Home
by sayheyadancer
Summary: Gabriella had no idea what was coming when she moved to the smallest town ever. When she meets Troy Bolton, he may just be the person she needs more than ever...but also may be the person she's strong enough without. Troyella AU. Review!
1. Trailer

**A/N: **_Hey guys! So here is my new story…hope you guys enjoy it. It's called __**Home **__and basically here's the summary…_

_**Big city girl Gabriella thought her life was over when she had to move to what she called the smallest town ever. Troy has lived in the small town all of his life. When they meet…will Gabriella finally discover that she might be home for the first time in her life? TROYELLA. Sort of Gabriella centered. **_

_Hope you guys enjoy! Here's the trailer, or what I call sneak peek._

_**PLEASE R&R!!!!**_

_**Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with HSM or its characters, and I'm basically a fan fiction imaginary story teller. :-)**_

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_**TRAILER: **__"Home" by Daughtry starts playing…_

_**This is the story about a girl who thought she was just having a nightmare…**_

"Gabriella, pack your things. We're moving" Lisa Montez explained calmly to her daughter, getting up to leave the room before the shock wept across Gabriella's face.

"WHAT?"

…_**When she had realized that this was no nightmare…**_

Gabriella sobbed openly on her boyfriend Lucas's chest, and he just stood still…and gave no use to comfort her back. "Babe…you can't leave me alone in New York! Just tell your mom she's having a psycho moment and be done with it" He shrugged.

Gabriella stopped crying and just gave Lucas a shocked look. "Could I do that?"

_**FLASHES**_

"Welcome to Mayville…ugh…mom, are you seriously joking? Please tell me you are" Gabriella muttered, setting her elbow on the side of her car, following her mother along the deserted street.

_**But will she ever discover…**_

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Gabriella looked around the shabby old restaurant. "Jeez, is there anyway to get a strawberries and crème' frappucino here?" She called out, and everyone turned to just stare at her.

"Never mind" Gabriella murmured, sinking down in a chair.

_**That there was more to this town than she thought…**_

"Hey there pretty lady!" A random guy called out to her, chewing on some old gum. Gabriella looked horrified, but was startled when she heard a sudden voice behind her,

"Red, knock it off" A guy with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes retorted.

_**...And she might finally realize her importance of life….**_

"Why do you care so much about yourself? I know that it's not all about you…so why do you act like it?" Troy stared at Gabriella, and this time she didn't have an answer.

…_**And she might finally have found her home.**_

Gabriella stared intently at Troy…and he just stared back. Finally she opened her mouth to speak,

"I think I know what I want. I want to feel at home…with people who love me."

_**Starring Gabriella Montez…**_

_Shows Gabriella giggling while Troy spins her around in the air…_

_**And Troy Bolton…**_

"_Gabriella…I believe you are home…because __**I **__love you…" Troy said softly, caressing Gabriella's soft cheek._

_**I present to you…'Home'.**_

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_So there's the trailer…and don't worry, I hope you guys don't think I automatically gave a lot away…but I assure you I didn't. There's TONS and TONS that I hadn't written. Like the juicy parts for instance…hehe._

_Please review and tell me whether or not you would like this story!!!_

_**THANKS GUYS:-)**_


	2. Prologue

**Hey guys! I'm going to try something new, and not let my A/N's be really long. Haha…anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the sneak peek for you! So here's the first chapter…basically the prologue. It's really nothing, sorry if it's kind of boring...but if you review, I'll put the first chapter up sooner! Enjoy and please R&R!!!**

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with HSM or its characters, and I'm basically a fanfiction imaginary story teller. :-)

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**Prologue**

Sometimes in people's lives, you tend to forget what it's like to care about others than yourself. You forget about all the things people have done for you in the past…and that they were the reasons you are where you are today. Most importantly, you forget to care about those significant others…and not care about what it feels like to be loved.

That was basically the whole problem of mine.

God…why didn't I see before that my boyfriend was a total loser? Why didn't I see before that my mother is basically my whole strength to get me through everyday? And why didn't I see before…that the reason why I never _cared _was because I never felt like I had enough people caring for me back.

But this time is different…my past is my past. People screw up…and sometimes it gets them completely screwed about that time for the rest of their lives.

But there are always chances to fix it.

And that is what I am doing right now…going back and fixing all of the things that need mended…and having all the people I love alongside of me.

Finding out I was moving…that was a painful experience. Meeting _less _new people than I had in my entire lifetime…but I suddenly felt great when I got into my new atmosphere. I suddenly felt like…

Like I was _home._

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Sorry it was so short…prologues are usually short anyways. Don't worry, the chapters are much longer. This was basically an interlude…to get inside of Gabriella's head a little…this is really kind of her point of view after the whole story…but it needed to be said beforehand.

**Please review!!!!! It'll make me smiley. :-)**


	3. Chapter 1

**Hey again! I posted this chapter quickly after the prologue…mainly because it was boring…haha…and I wanted to start the STORY so badly. And the fact that I have almost all of the chapters written already. Boo yah! I'm so proud of myself...no more long waits guys. I hope you're happy:-)**

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!!**

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**Chapter 1**

Gabriella Montez sat on her suede covered bed, chewing down on her pencil while staring intently at her Chemistry book. Sighing, she took a deep breath as she listened to the sounds of cars rushing past her condo, out on the busy streets of New York. She was lying on her stomach and her knees were bent and crossed upward, with her chin propped up on her hand.

"Still can't answer the problem?" Her best friend forever, Shelly said from across the room, sitting on her swiveled chair also with a book upon her lap. She grinned down at Gabriella who groaned lightly and let her head fall down to cover her book.

Grunting loudly again, she looked up and grinned slightly at Shelly. "Why do we even need chemistry Shell? It's not like I want to be a chemist when I grow up…" Gabriella muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Maybe you can try and attack Mr. Bridges with what you did to Lucas the other night…then maybe you guys can compromise…" Shelly said with a smirk on her face, and Gabriella gasped loudly.

"SHELL! That is just…so wrong. So wrong of you to say…I'd rather die over this stupid homework problem than…ugh" Gabriella shivered at the thought of it.

Shelly laughed, "I know Brie. Chill…I was just joking."

"Yeah you better be" Gabriella muttered quickly, as they heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" Gabriella responded, picking up her pencil again and attempting at the question again.

The door opened with a click, and Gabriella's mother, Lisa, poked her head through the door. "Hey Gabi…just making sure you were awake. Oh hello Shelly! You're here awfully early aren't you?" Lisa smiled hesitantly, looking at Gabriella's best friend.

"Hello Lisa" Shelly greeted, as she packed up her things into her bag. "I was actually heading out anyways…I think Brie needs to study on her own, or else she'll go ballistic with me around…" She laughed and waved goodbye at her friend.

Gabriella grinned. "Got that right…call you later Shell!" She yelled after her friend, as she tucked her pencil inside the book, and closed it while pushing it aside. Sitting up straight she sat cross-legged and looked at her mother who still stood in the doorway.

"Mom…did you need something?" She asked with curiosity, raising an eyebrow while reaching for her sidekick on her bedside table.

"Uhm dear…actually I really needed to talk to you about something…" Lisa began as she moved swiftly across the room towards her daughter, but was quickly cut off,

"Oh cool. But can it wait? I really need to call Lucas…I mean I haven't talked to him since last night and we haven't seen each other since yesterday morning…" Gabriella told her, as she started punching numbers into her phone.

Lisa sighed and grabbed the phone out of Gabriella's hands and pressed the 'end' button. Gabriella stared at her mother in shock…as she glowered down at her. "Gabi…when I say we need to talk…I mean we need to talk."

Gabriella still sat with her mouth open wide. Her mother had never grabbed her phone out of her hands like that…and she never stopped her from calling Lucas before. What was _so _important that she had to tell her?

"So…talk" Gabriella said annoyed, glancing up at the clock which read 11:03 A.M. She knew Lucas was leaving in a half and hour to go visit his grandparents for a weekend, and she really wanted to see him.

"Gabriella…honey…this may be about something you won't like…" Lisa started slowly, glancing worriedly at her daughter who was just rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Mom...just get on with it. What's wrong?" Gabriella sighed impatiently, playing with the rings on her fingers.

Deciding it was best to just blurt it out, Lisa turned to Gabriella. "Gabriella…pack your things. We're moving" Lisa explained calmly, before getting up and moving to leave the room.

Shock immediately wept across Gabriella's face as she knew what was happening. "WHAT?" She screeched so loudly that most of New York City could have heard her. She jumped off her bed, fuming, while glaring at her mother who was about to leave.

"I'm sorry honey…we just have to leave" Lisa said yet again calmly, before opening the door and closing it behind her.

Gabriella stood frozen to her spot in the room, still glaring at where her mother once was standing. Shock, anger, sadness, and horror were buzzing together inside Gabriella's head, and she slapped a hand to her forehead to try and stop it.

Setting a hand behind her, she felt for the bed, and gently sat herself back down on it. Taking a deep breath…and then letting it out, she started to ask herself questions. What the heck had just happened? Surely it just couldn't be real…it most definitely had to be a nightmare.

Without being able to take it anymore, she flopped down on her pillow, and started sobbing and sobbing…her life was for sure, over now.

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Heart-wrenching…haha not really. This is most definitely OOC Gabriella…actually basically everyone is out of their characters. Only a few select characters from the movie will be in this story…and there are a lot of characters I own. Like Shelly and Lucas already…

**Please review:-) **


	4. Chapter 2

**Hello!!! Well, here's the next chapter. If you guys are wondering, Troy is going to come into the story very soon…not this chapter. But most likely the next one. :-) Anyways, here it is! Thank you sooo much for the reviews so far.**

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with HSM or its characters, and I'm basically a fan fiction imaginary story teller. :-)

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**Chapter 2**

Only a half and hour later after what her mother had told her, Gabriella found herself standing on her boyfriend's doorstep, sobbing as hard as she could while knocking on the door lightly. She heard footsteps approaching the door, and she hiccupped lightly, trying to gain some control before someone answered it.

The door opened, and Gabriella looked up at the person with a tear-stained face, hoping that Lucas was the one that answered. But instead, she looked into the eyes of what seemed like a very bored maid of theirs. One of the many his family had.

"May I help you Miss Montez?" She said in mono-tone, slightly annoyed by the usual routine. She just figured it was another one of Gabriella's periodical days, where she came and had to cry over it with her beloved boyfriend. And frankly, the maid couldn't care less.

"I need to see…Lu-Lucas…" Gabriella managed to sputter out, covering her face in her hands with her sobs. The maid gave a roll of her eyes, and shouted into the hall for Lucas.

Shortly after, Lucas came bounding down his big spiral steps and headed towards the front door. "What's going…baby?" Lucas started saying, but stopped when he saw his girlfriend hunched over, crying into her hands.

"Oh Luc…it's horrible!" Gabriella shrieked, flinging herself into her boyfriend's arms, both unaware of how disgusted the maid was, and with another roll of her eyes, shut the door to leave them with privacy.

"What's horrible babe?" Lucas asked her impatiently, just watching the girl cry helplessly in his neck. She just shook her head as more sobs flowed out. Lucas sighed incredibly loud, "Gabriella…TELL ME right now…Jesus…"

"I'm moving" Gabriella said softly, sniffing as she moved out of Lucas's arms. She crossed hers across her chest, and she stared awkwardly down at the steps, seeing her tears drip off her face and down onto the ground.

Suddenly Gabriella heard someone bellowing loudly, and she looked up startled, to see Lucas practically dying with laughter. Gabriella wrinkled her nose in confusion, and her eyes glazed with hurt. "Wh-what are you laughing at?" She asked him softly, watching him clutch at his sides.

"Moving…that's a good one…" Lucas chuckled, as he wiped tears away at his eyes, from laughing so much. Realization dawned on Gabriella…he thought she was joking. But she sighed knowing she wasn't,

"Lucas…I wasn't joking. I'm moving to some…some stupid small town called Mayville…"

Lucas immediately stopped laughing and looked at Gabriella finally, who looked as if she was going to start sobbing again because she had mentioned Mayville…and he groaned at that fact. "Oh damn…you're for sure?" He said in a surprised tone.

Unable to talk any longer, she just nodded her head, feeling more tears spilling off her cheeks. She broke down again, and ran into her boyfriend's arms. Frightened by all the crying the girl was doing, he just awkwardly patted her on the back.

Gabriella sobbed openly on Lucas's chest, and he just stood still…and gave no use to comfort her back. "Babe…you can't leave me alone in New York! Just tell your mom she's having a psycho moment and be done with it" He shrugged.

Gabriella stopped crying and just gave Lucas a shocked look. "Could I do that?"

Lucas just shrugged again. "I don't see why not…seriously, this is your SENIOR year…1 more year until college…which is basically when you get free from your whacked up parents anyways" He said in a not really caring voice, which made Gabriella stop and take a step back from him. All she had was her mother now…her dad died when she was ten.

She stared intently into his eyes, and she saw completely carelessness. Was this really what he thought? Did he really not care much about if she left or not? Did he really think that, she would completely ditch and not care about her mom anymore? She felt her blood boil up with anger. Lucas looked slightly frightened, not knowing exactly why she was giving him that look.

They both were too busy staring at each other, one worried and one angry, to notice a car pull up next to the gate of the house.

"You asshole" Gabriella spat out angrily, grabbing her purse from the porch railing, and stomping down the driveway without another word.

"Baby, where are you going? What about us?" Lucas called out after her, confused into why she was acting this way. Gabriella let out a frustrated scream, and turned around so swiftly, that Lucas felt frightened to move an inch.

"You can't just INSAULT my family all you want and think you can get away with it! I CANNOT BELIEVE I didn't see this in you before! You are just full of…UGH! We are over Lucas Middleton…don't bother contacting me again!" Gabriella yelled harshly, still not noticing as Shelly was slowly coming up from behind of her.

"Huh?" Was all Lucas said to reply back, utterly bemused and confused at what was happening. Gabriella just let out a cynical laugh, and turned around to leave, but turned back around when she knew she had something else to say.

"Have a nice life in New York, Lucas" Gabriella finished coldly, turning around and determined to never walk back, grabbing a hold of her best friend's hand in the process. Shelly gave out a shriek, but followed her in an instant, knowing she was totally about to blow smoke.

Once they were both clear and outside of the gates, Gabriella let out another aggravated scream that seemed to echo over the entire neighborhood. Shelly held her manicured hands to her ears, and slowly let them go when she heard her calm down a bit.

"Gabriella…what's going on? Did you just say what I thought you said?" Shelly asked her shakily, still shocked over at what was happening. She watched as Gabriella sniffed and looked up at her best friend.

Her eyes shimmered with tears again, and she swiftly ran over to hug Shelly. "I'm so sorry Shell…my mom told me after you left…I'm moving to some town called Mayville. And-and I'm never coming back!" She wailed, sobbing into her friend's hair.

Shelly let it all sink in finally, and together they stood there sobbing and clinging onto each other…as if they were never going to see the other again.

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And then it was only a week later, and Gabriella found herself standing in the driveway of her beloved mansion, taking one last look at it forever. She sniffed and sighed dramatically up at her house, remembering all her memories she had in that place. She watched as her mother walked by, only taking a quick glance at her, before rolling her eyes.

"Honestly Gabi…stop being such a drama queen" Lisa insisted as she walked past, which just got Gabriella even more aggravated with tears. Huffing loudly, Gabriella crossed her arms and turned away from her house, only to find herself in the arms of her best friend once more.

"Brie…I'm going to miss you so much!" Shelly cried, and they two friends stood hugging each other again, what felt like eternity. Sobbing and crying, crying and sobbing, they didn't know how they'd stop.

"Gabriella! We have to get going, to beat the city traffic! So get in your car, and let's go!" Lisa shouted over to her daughter, as she opened the driver's side, and got into her own car, with Gabriella's behind hers.

"Oh Shell…don't find any new best friends, alright?" Gabriella sniffed, her eyes still clogged up, but she managed to see her nod stiffly. With one last hug, and one last tearful goodbye, Gabriella grabbed her keys out of her skirt pocket and ran over to the driver's side of her silver convertible.

Shutting the door, and putting the top down, she waved solemnly to Shelly, watching her mom drive off into the distance. And starting her engine, she too drove off and away from her so-called home.

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Wow…does anybody want to go through the chapter again, and review to me how many times exactly Gabriella starts crying in this chapter? Haha. And I know…it's totally not like her character Gabriella…this one is sort of stuck-up and well…Sharpay-like…but you'll just see. :-)

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**


	5. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Well I hope you all liked the last chapter. Sorry if it might be kind of boring at first…but don't worry, we have new characters coming into this chapter. If you know what I mean…haha. Please R&R!!!!**

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with HSM or its characters, and I'm basically a fan fiction imaginary story teller. :-)

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**Chapter 3**

Gabriella made sure to keep her radio blasted, as she sped down the final road towards her new house. As she glanced around with her eyes, but still keeping them on the road, she noticed that it was practically deserted. They had past through the smallest part of town earlier, and she only noticed a few restaurants here and there, a small hotel, and absolutely no Starbucks.

She sighed loudly, and propped her hand on the side of her car again, and kept on following her mother's car, feeling a slight wind go through her hair. Her mother's car turned on the next road, and she quickly made a move to follow in her direction. She was sort of anxious to see her new home, but also kind of scared…it definitely wouldn't have been as big as her penthouse.

She watched as her mother slowed down, and stopped in front of a yard. Gabriella slowed down and parallel parked behind her mother, turning off the engine. Stepping out lightly, Gabriella turned away from the house before looking at it. When she had taken a deep breath, she turned back to see a three story house, with a pretty big sized yard.

Raising an eyebrow and shutting the door, she glanced at it up and down. Letting out a disgusted noise, she trudged to her trunk, and started taking out all she could carry. Not wanting to look her mother in the eye, she brushed past her, who was heading towards her daughter at the very moment, and stomped up the yard.

"Well that was a nice welcome home" Lisa muttered after Gabriella, and followed her inside. When she got in, she saw Gabriella heading up the staircase. "Uh…where do you think you are going?" She asked, and Gabriella stopped to look at her.

"I'm taking these to my _room_" Gabriella said in a 'duh' voice, holding up the things in her hands and started to continue up the stairs. Ignoring her mother's protest and telling her to come downstairs and help her unpack, she kicked open one of the doors with her foot, and glanced around the room.

She liked the size of it, not as big as her old one, but it would do. She started by setting her stuff down in the corner, and walked around the room. She noticed in the window, was a small seat, where she could sit and stare out the window. She smiled, knowing at night she just loved to look at the stars and think for awhile.

Hearing her mother shout from the bottom of the stairs again, Gabriella rolled her eyes, and finally decided it'd be best if she just went down now, and could unpack her things later.

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The next morning, Gabriella drove through town to see what there was, and felt suddenly in desperate need of Starbucks. Seeing a restaurant, she thought this would have to do, and parked in the lot, shutting off her engine.

Grabbing her purse, and slightly fixing her hair in the rearview mirror, Gabriella got out of the car, and smoothed out her plaid skirt. Deciding she would probably be the best looking one in there, she walked to the door, and pushed it open.

The place was noisy, and she saw a lot of kids her age. First she noticed an African –American girl and boy, who was sitting together and blushing furiously at each other. Gabriella couldn't help but grin-they probably liked each other.

Looking around, she noticed a lot of the people staring at her. None of them were dressed like she was…only a few had skirts on, but none of them had designer shirts. Gabriella crossed her arms uncomfortably.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Gabriella looked around the shabby old restaurant. "Jeez, is there anyway to get a strawberries and crème' frappucino here?" She called out, and everyone's stare just got worse.

"Never mind" Gabriella murmured, sinking down in a chair. She put her head in her hands and started groaning. She didn't want to be here…she felt so out of place…she belonged in the big city.

"Hey there pretty lady!" A random guy called out to her, chewing on some old gum. Gabriella looked up horrified, but was startled when she heard a sudden voice behind her,

"Red, knock it off" A guy with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes retorted. Gabriella slowly turned around in her chair, to see a very cute guy staring back at her. He gave her a slight smile, but she didn't want to return it.

Sighing and closing her eyes, she looked back to the front and buried her face in her hands. "I do not want to be here right now…" She mumbled into her hands, and the place was still pretty quiet, as if they were still staring at her.

"I'm guessing you're new here?" The same guy with the blue eyes asked her, and she turned back to look at him again, bored. Gabriella gave him a nod and he chuckled, walking and sitting down in the seat across from her.

She felt suddenly intrigued…why was this guy she didn't even know, _sitting _with her? Raising her eyebrows, she crossed her arms. He just looked at her, and finally held out his hand.

"I'm Troy Bolton. I've lived here all my life."

Gabriella glanced at his hand, and hesitantly held hers out and shook it lightly. She was shocked at his touch. "I'm Gabriella Montez…lived in New York City all my life" She grumbled, letting go of his hand.

Troy let out a whistle. "New York City? Wow…most definitely never been there" He said shaking his head, and Gabriella looked at him curiously.

"Why not?" She asked, watching as someone placed free water in front of them. She dipped the straw they gave her in the water, and lightly sipped on it.

Troy just shrugged carelessly. "I've never really been outside of this town…not much use. I've got everything I need right here with me…" He responded, waving a hand around the place. Gabriella finally sat back and glanced around it. Even though it was pretty small, it felt really homey.

Gabriella's shoulders suddenly sagged. "Well you know…I'm not much of a small town girl" She finally said back, standing up and smoothing out her skirt again. Troy looked up at her in surprise. "I'll see you around, Troy."

And with that, Gabriella walked out of the door. She really didn't feel she needed to interact with people here. And that's exactly what she just did…and with a guy too.

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Yay! Troy's in the story now…aha. We also saw Taylor and Chad, even though I didn't say their names, and a weird guy named Red. :-) Ha. Thanks for your reviews so far guys.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!**


	6. Chapter 4

**Hello again guys!!! Hope you all liked the last chapter. Thanks for all the amazing reviews…you guys are awesome!! Anyways, hope you all like this chapter too. Things get just a little more interesting…and I have the whole story laid out, and I hope you all enjoy it!**

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with HSM or its characters, and I'm basically a fanfiction imaginary story teller. :-)

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**Chapter 4**

"Alright class, settle down…" History teacher Mrs. Brooks said to her class room, and the noise volume lowered a fraction. "Thank you…now today we will be starting out on the geographical place…" Mrs. Brooks voice faded away as the door creaked open.

The whole class room turned their heads over to the door in the corner, and Gabriella poked her head through the door. Realizing everyone was staring at her, she suddenly grew nervous as her face turned slightly crimson. Making her full body finally present through the doorway, she looked down at her schedule and then back up at the teacher.

"Uh is this history with Mrs. Brooks?" Gabriella said softly, avoiding eye contact with anybody. The teacher only silently nodded as she pointed to a desk in front of someone.

"Welcome Miss Montez…class, this is Gabriella Montez and she has moved here from New York City" Mrs. Brooks started as the class gushed in noise again, talking about a girl who moved here from one of the biggest cities in the country. "Please make her feel welcome…"

Mrs. Brooks then turned to Gabriella, "You may take a seat in front of Mr. Bolton right there."

Gabriella snapped her head once she said Bolton, and Gabriella realized it was the boy she had met the day before. He flashed her a grin, and looking down at the floor, she made her way over to the desk, and sat down without a word of acknowledgment to him.

"Now class…" Mrs. Brooks began, and Gabriella sighed softly to herself, as she got situated at her desk, putting her purse on the floor next to her and opening her notebook.

Gabriella had an intake of sharp breath as someone started whispering towards her ear. "Tip number 1, never get caught talking in Mrs. Brooks class" Troy said to her, and she gulped as she had a tingling feeling as he rested back into his seat.

She turned slightly behind her to face him, and gave him a surprised and incredulous look. Before she could do anything else, she heard someone clap their hands loudly.

"Mr. Bolton! Miss Montez! I know you're new here…but can you at least wait until after class to get acquainted with the opposite sex?" Mrs. Brooks said harshly, eyeing the two, and Gabriella felt herself sink into her desk. It was obvious the kids around them were staring, and she felt herself turning red all over again.

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Gabriella opened her locker, stuck her head in it, and groaned loudly. So far she absolutely did not want to be there at all…she just wanted to be back in New York, getting ready to sit down in the cafeteria with Shelly and her other friends, and gossip and laugh about who knows what. But she knew she couldn't.

Her sidekick made a buzzing sound, and Gabriella knew she had a new message. Being quick and anxious to look at it, she flipped the screen up on her phone, and realized she had a new video. Pressing play, she immediately saw Shelly's face grinning…and she suddenly felt teary eyed.

"Brie! Oh my gosh…I'm just about to go to lunch…but I just wanted to check in with you out there in no-where's-ville. I hope everything is going okay! Oh my gosh…you'll never guess what just happened! Josh Cramer asked me out! And I said yes! Ah…I am so totally calling you tonight to discuss more about it…by the way Amber and Brittany say hi too! Well we have to go now…but video us back! We love you…smooches! Bye."

After the video had stopped, Gabriella didn't realize that tears were just flowing down her cheeks. Shoving her phone down into her pockets, she sniffed loudly, suddenly feeling like a presence of a body was behind her.

"You know…" The voice started saying, and Gabriella recognized it to be Troy's and suddenly felt very sharp and alert again, "I wouldn't worry about Mrs. Brooks. I seriously didn't mean…"

Gabriella, trying to wipe her tears away, poked her head out of the locker, and Troy got a look at her tear-stained face. He immediately started feeling guilty, "Oh God I really am sorry…"

Gabriella sniffed and smiled. "No it's okay…it's not about the thing in the classroom…" Gabriella explained, as she felt her smile falter. "Just…my friend sent me a video from New York…and I'm just missing her, that's all."

Troy gave her a reassuring grin, and he nodded like he understood completely. Without giving her a second to think, he grabbed a hold of her hand, and shut her locker door for her. "Come on…I have some friends I want you to meet. Maybe it'll make you feel better" He told her, as he led her down the hallways towards the cafeteria.

Gabriella giggled as they entered the cafeteria, and she noticed it was fairly small…compared to the one in New York. She spent a few seconds letting her eyes graze around the place, before she felt a tug on her hand again. Realizing that Troy was moving again, she let him lead the way, and they finally made it to a table with a group of people sitting around and talking.

They all quieted down as Troy and Gabriella approached and gave cheekful grins. "Hey guys, I would like you to meet Gabriella Montez, she just moved here" Troy introduced, as Gabriella noticed he was still keeping a firm grip on her hand. "And Gabriella this is Taylor, Chad, Sharpay, Zeke, Kelsi, Jason, and Ryan."

"Whoa…aren't you the girl who came in the restaurant last night, yelling and grumbling about Starbucks?" The bushy-haired guy named Chad called out to her, and she suddenly looked down blushing.

The girl Gabriella also noticed was at the place last night too, Taylor, slapped Chad over the head. "Chad! Don't say that…" She scolded him as if she was his mother, and they all laughed.

"It's fine" Gabriella spoke out, and everyone smiled at her.

"Well its nice meeting you Gabriella!" Sharpay, the blonde, said excitedly, and Gabriella noticed that she had the same style and voice as a lot of friends of hers back home…and that made her realize just how much she missed them.

Troy gently pulled her over to the table, and sat down, her following in suit next to him. The whole group started chatting again about different things, and Troy and Gabriella sat there and just listened. Not noticing that everyone else had stopped to check out the two, who were now looking up or down at the other, grinning.

It was then that Gabriella realized that Troy was still holding onto her hand.

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Hope you guys liked this chapter! I decided to let them keep holding hands…well because I didn't want it to be like the basic girl/boy story…where they hold hands…and then look down and notice that they still are…blush furiously and let go. Disappointing, right? Well I wanted to shake things up a bit. Hehe.

Well anyways, next chapter will be out soon!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	7. Chapter 5

**Hey again, it's Amanda! Aha. Anyways, thanks for your reviews for the last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it…and maybe, just maybe I'll add more Troyella in this one…hm…guess you will have to read to find out!**

**Hehe. Please enjoy!**

**PLEASE R&R!!!!**

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**Chapter 5**

It was three weeks into the new school year, and Gabriella was just now starting to get used to her new school. She, Taylor, Sharpay, and Kelsi had become quick friends, but every night when she returned from school she started chatting with her best friends from NYC on instant messenger.

Her mother and her still had nightly fueds over the whole moving situation…and usually ended up with Gabriella locking herself up in her room, and then calling her BFF Shelly and venting to her. Or other times, when Shelly was not available, she'd end up calling Troy…and for some reason she always thought he was the better listener and more understanding. He was surprised at first when she started calling him, but just listening to his advice, made her feel like she had butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

But Gabriella still stood strong, and many days like today, she'd find herself sitting around the small school yard, chatting easily with her new friends, and still having the time of her life.

"Gabriella…from my experience from going to New York City…the mocha vanilla cappuccinos are definitely THE best!" Sharpay ranted on, and Gabriella started arguing with her with what drink from Starbucks is the absolutely tastiest.

Taylor and Kelsi rolled their eyes, now realizing they had two Sharpay's. "Seriously guys…you've been having this conversation since the day you've met…and you are _STILL _having it!" Taylor said crankily, and they all giggled.

Sharpay linked arms with Gabriella and huffed, "Taylor don't be such a drama queen."

Gabriella heard sudden rustling of the leaves behind her, and she smirked knowing who was coming up to them. "Don't even think about it, Troy" Gabriella warned, and she heard the boy groan from behind her, and she turned around to meet his pouting face.

They had this game almost nearly everyday. He'd try to sneak up from behind her to either start tickling her, or try to jump on her back, always causing them to fall to the ground. And then she would accuse him of trying to get her dirty.

Even though the rest of the group knew it was clear signs of flirting, Gabriella still kept her distance from him. She knew fully well that she was going away to NYU the next summer, and she didn't want to get into a whole new mess of a relationship with a guy who plans to live in a small town for the rest of his life.

"Sorry Gabriella" Troy held his hands up in innocence. "Did I interrupt the beauty queens?" He joked, and Sharpay and Gabriella glared at him, and he just piped back down.

Taylor snorted. "Yeah you did…but by all means, please do" She also muttered, which earned a kick in the leg by Sharpay. Taylor hollered in pain and winced, while giving Sharpay a glare.

Gabriella smiled, and started to head out towards the parking lot with her keys in hand, but someone tugged on her arm to make her stop. Turning around she came face to face with Troy, and raised her eyebrows up at him. "Yes?"

"So um…what are you planning to do over the weekend?" Troy asked her casually, and she almost laughed out loud. He stopped her from going home, just to ask her what she was doing that weekend?

"Uh I don't know…probably fighting with my mother some more…" Gabriella mumbled, and Troy noticed the discomfort in her voice.

"Hey" Troy said, getting her attention by grabbing a hold of one of her hands and squeezing it, "It'll be alright. Maybe you and your mom should try and sit down to talk for awhile…let it all out…"

She looked down at their hands in shock, and slowly released his grip. Gabriella pondered his suggestion, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Thanks for the advice…I guess I'll see what happens…"

Troy just nodded and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, as he stood on his heels. He started whistling to himself, while Gabriella checked her sidekick for the time. It was almost four o'clock…she promised Shelly she'd call her as soon as school got out.

"Hey" Troy started again, and she looked up to meet his blue eyes, "The whole gang is planning on meeting up at this small restaurant and sort of a club type thing on Saturday night…you want to come?"

Gabriella was surprised that he was interested in inviting her places…but she thought about it for a moment. She loved to have fun, and maybe this will help keep her mind off of what she missed back in the city. "I'll think about it" Gabriella said shortly, before turning her back from him and striding off to her car.

"Great, it's on Emerald Street, called The Fuel!" He shouted after her, and she gave him a thumbs-up, noting that she heard him. Troy just watched her go, and laughed to himself. That girl sure was something. Mostly a mystery to him…

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"Haha, alright, love you, bye Shel!" Gabriella said cheerfully into her phone, and pressed the 'end button on her phone. Setting it into her purse quickly, she focused on the road again, the wind blowing in her face from having the top on her convertible down.

She felt the car going slower and slower, and Gabriella checked to make sure she wasn't letting any pressure off the gas. She wasn't; so she pulled over to the side of the road, and sure enough her car stopped moving completely. Gabriella gaped from her seat, and groaned as she kept pressing harder and harder on the pedals, but the car didn't budge.

"AGH!" Gabriella screamed, and fiercely hit her steering wheel, hard. Resting her head on top of it, she figured the only thing to do now, was to call her mother. Grumbling, she worked on re taking her phone out of her purse, when she heard a sudden honk of a car.

Gabriella looked over swiftly, and saw Troy grinning from the inside of his truck at her, He rolled down the window and called out of it to her, "Well…I see someone's having car trouble?"

Narrowing her eyes at him, she decided not to answer. She just started punching in numbers on her cell phone. She heard a door slam, and watched as Troy made his way around the front of his car, and over to her side of hers.

"What happened?" He asked her, and she sighed.

"My car stopped working. I was just driving along the road when I kept slowing down more and more, so I pulled over, and now it won't move again" Gabriella said, very frustrated, and he chuckled. "How did you know it was me?" She asked.

Troy rolled his eyes. "It wasn't that hard…you are about the only person in town to have a convertible as a car…" He said teasingly, and she felt like punching him at that moment.

"Haha, very funny…" She added sarcastically, but soon frowned when she remembered her situation.

The car was still turned on with the keys in the ignition, so he glanced at her gas meter, and laughed when he saw it read EMPTY. "Well, here's the answer to that problem…" Troy told her, pointing to the meter and she glanced at it.

Huffing loudly, she stepped out of the car, and Troy backed up a little. "Look…what do I do now?" Gabriella asked him.

Troy just rolled his eyes. "It's amazing you got your driver's license…" Troy said sarcastically, but stopped when she shot him a death glare, "Okay look, take your keys out of the car, your purse, or anything else that needs to be kept safe, and I'll drive you to the gas station to get a tank of gas, and then we'll come back here and fill your car up. Alright?"

Gabriella nodded, satisfied with that answer, and started grabbing stuff out of her car. Troy moved over to the car door of the passenger's side and opened it for her, ready to let her in. When she turned back around, she smiled at how much of a gentleman he was being.

When they were both seated in the car, he started it up again, and they were headed back on the road. "Troy" She started, and he glanced quickly at her, letting her know that she had his attention, and then turned back to the road.

"Thanks" She smiled gratefully, and kissed his cheek quickly, before leaning back down in her seat.

Troy knew he was feeling him self blushing and only replied, "Your welcome."

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**Aww, Troy! Haha. Well I hope you guys liked that chapter…it was basically nothing, but also it's just showing how their relationship is slowly growing with each chapter and possible moment…alright I'm starting to get a little corny.**

**Anyways, next chapter should be up soon! Hope you liked this.**

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	8. Chapter 6

**Hello again! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter…this one may seem a little intense. I'm not sure about how it's going to go…but I'm giving it my best shot! So please, R&R and tell me what you think of this!**

**Hope you all enjoy! Thanks for the awesome reviews so far. It's much appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: **I am not affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

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**Chapter 6**

Troy bobbed his head along to the music, as his eyes scanned over the crowded room of teenagers. As he took a sip of his coke, he realized that almost every teenager in the city was in there; except for a few select people who would rather spend their time studying like Martha Winston, or Jack Hunter. The so called, "Teen Club" was a hit around their town…every Saturday night the kids gathered together to have a whole bunch of fun.

"Dude…is it just _me _or is the music getting LOUDER?" Chad screamed basically at the top of his lungs, and everyone felt like plugging their ears. Sometimes he could be louder _than _the music.

"DUDE…I think it's just YOU" Troy yelled back in a mockingly tone, and Chad just gave him a stony glare. The whole group at the table laughed, and Troy took another drink of his pop.

He sighed, realizing this is what he practically did every Saturday night. He never usually got up and danced; he wasn't much of a dancer. But he suddenly felt apprehensive when the one person he was hoping would show up…hadn't yet.

There was a sudden hoot of cat calls and whistles…and almost every boy in the room lined up towards the door to get a closer look at what was going on. Troy furrowed his eyebrow as he looked to his friends; they all shrugged their shoulders, not knowing what was going on.

"Hey, didn't you say Gabriella is supposed to come tonight, Troy?" Taylor asked, and he just shrugged in response.

"She said she might come…but I'm not so sure if she is anymore…" Troy replied, letting out a hint of sadness in his voice. Sharpay sat there frowning, feeling bad for her friend, but when she looked back towards the crowd again her eyes lit up brilliantly.

"I think I object to that…" Sharpay said quickly, nodding her head towards the crowd. Troy had already brought up his coke back to his lips to take a drink, when he had turned around to see what she was nodding at.

There stood Gabriella, wearing a mini skirt, and a low cut top, with her hair down in loose curls. Troy was for sure, that he could have just spit out his drink right then and there. It wasn't until Sharpay had handed him a napkin that he realized he actually had.

Gabriella was making her way over to their table; Troy turned around quickly to wipe off his face, and when he turned back around Gabriella was smiling down at the group.

"Hey guys!" She waved cheerfully, and they all responded happily. Gabriella looked at Troy, who still seemed to be troubled with getting a word out.

Chad patted his best friend on the back forcefully, and he finally spit it out. "Hey G-Gabriella" He stuttered, and everyone managed to hold in their laughter and snickers as he felt himself turn crimson colored.

"Hey Troy…" She replied wearily, slightly pushing him over in the booth so she could sit next to him. They all seemed to sit in an awkward silence as the music blared…but no one seemed to know what to say.

The next song came on as quick as the last one came off, it was "Let's Dance" by Vanessa Hudgens. Gabriella gasped, "I love this song! Does anybody want to go dance?"

Everyone glanced over to Troy, who just looked at them all with a pleading glance. _No _He tried to mouth furiously, but that didn't stop Zeke from smirking. "Hey Gabriella-I think Troy here wants to dance some…"

"Oh…yay!" Gabriella squealed, grabbing onto Troy's hand and leading him out of the booth, and onto the dance floor. Troy kept his head turned to the group and mouthed one last time, _I hate you all_.

Their only response was to crack up and go around, high-fiving each other.

Both Troy and Gabriella soon found themselves in the middle of everyone, and they seemed to be smashed together. For awhile during the song, Gabriella seemed to be dancing on her own, while Troy just rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the room awkwardly.

Gabriella laughed, and wrapped her arms around his neck quickly. He looked at her in shock; she just smirked in response. "Do you even know how to dance, Troy?" She chuckled, and he felt himself being embarrassed all over again.

"Uh yeah I just…" He tried to explain, but he knew she was giving him the eye. He finally sighed, "Uh no…"

She smiled and glanced at him again; they were both pressed to each other; there was basically not enough oxygen in the room for all of them to breathe. "Come on…" She started, taking his arms, and wrapping them around her waist. "Now just move to my rhythm…okay?" She told him, and he nodded, still unsure.

She started to move around and dance a little, and Troy felt his breath hitch tightly into his throat. It took him a moment, but then he suddenly started to get more comfortable, and moved along with her. People were yelling and dancing to the rhythms, and Troy knew he wasn't the only one out there.

Soon enough they started dancing more heatedly…almost to the point where they were grinding…Gabriella was feeling butterflies in her stomach as she realized that Troy's torso was pressed up against hers. His body always felt so warm, and she felt herself start to sweat a bit.

Troy knew his heart was speeding up as he saw Gabriella move swiftly back around to face him…her arms had re-wrapped around his neck, his around her waist. Barely able to move through the crowd, they felt themselves stumbling away from all of the noise, and backing up, not realizing what they were doing.

Troy felt like his head was spinning…he most certainly knew he had only one coke. And that was only pop. They kept backing up until Gabriella felt herself ram into a wall, and it was only then that they both realized how fast they were breathing.

Their breaths almost came out in gasps…Troy reached his right hand to touch the wall right beside Gabriella's face, as he had her pinned to the wall. As they controlled their breaths, Gabriella self-consciously grabbed a hold of Troy's shirt, and held on tight with her fists.

"Wow…is that really what you're in for when you dance here?" Gabriella said in shock moments later…after they had somewhat regained control.

Troy felt himself laughing; his face still seemed to only be inches away from hers. "I really had no clue…I'm not an experienced dancer, remember?" He smirked, and Gabriella just looked at him in shock, as she regained her memory.

"They way you were dancing out there? You sure didn't look like someone that was inexperienced…" Gabriella retorted, and Troy grinned down at her…he felt his nose slowly touch hers.

"Well…I guess next time won't be as hard then…" He whispered almost inaudibly…Gabriella felt her eyelids grow heavy, and droop to a close…

Troy, not being able to stand it any longer, knew what was happening. He crashed his lips on hers, and filled their kiss with as much passion as he could muster. Gabriella responded almost immediately, and he felt his hand rewrap around her waist again. He pressed her tightly against him, and she felt her mouth open wider, as his tongue slipped in.

They kept on kissing and kissing, when Troy finally tore his lips apart from hers. They were even more out of breath this time than they were coming off the dance floor…and Troy felt his forehead drop to rest his head against hers. "Damn..." He cursed silently, keeping his eyes closed.

Gabriella felt blurred…the music seemed to be louder, Troy's words seemed to drum against her ears…and she was so out of breath, she couldn't hear herself think. "I think I should…I should go now…" She said quickly, and made a move to exit.

Troy grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her back around. She almost didn't realize it, but before she knew it, she found herself pressed in a hug, his arms wrapped around her tightly. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Gabriella felt him slowly rock back and forth a little, and she smiled.

They finally found composure with their breathing again, and that's when Gabriella decided to pull apart. She felt a little emptiness in her stomach when she had pulled apart, and that just made her grin more. "Goodnight Troy" Gabriella whispered to him, kissing his cheek, before making her way out the door.

Troy watched her go, not knowing that the gang had definitely seen quite a show that night.

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Well…what did you guys think? I know I somehow managed to have Troy and Gabriella together…without them actually getting together as a couple. I may just save that for later…haha. But anyways, I did think this was a little too intense, to be honest.

But I don't know…you tell me, guys!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hello! Thanks for all your reviews…you all rock! Anyways like I said about the last chapter, I wasn't sure about that one. It might have been too extreme for the story…haha…but anyways, hope you all like it. This one is going to be a lot sweeter…hope you all enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I am not affiliated with High School Musical, or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!**

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**Chapter 7**

"Man, this place is so different from New York! First there's no Starbucks…and now, there's no valet, or hardly anywhere to park your car!" Gabriella exclaimed, infuriated, as she walked into the History classroom on Monday morning. All of the gang was huddled up talking about the past weekend, except for Troy, who seemed to be keeping to himself when Gabriella arrived.

"You thought we had valet _parking _in this town?" Chad asked, dumbfounded.

Gabriella laughed and shook her head, "Well I wasn't expecting it to. But you could at least have more spaces to park your cars! I almost had to park out in the street!"

Everyone laughed, except Troy, who seemed to be on another planet that morning. Taylor glanced at him curiously, and then she looked at Gabriella, who seemed to be examining the floors or the ceiling. She raised her eyebrows; it was obvious the two hadn't talked since Saturday night.

Gabriella took the empty seat next to Troy, and gasped a little when her fingers accidentally grazed his hand. Their heads both shot up to stare intently at each other and the whole gang was now completely interested with their connection. Gabriella bit her lip as she watched Troy speculating her face…and that's when the bell rang.

"Uh…class time…" Gabriella managed to gulp out, removing herself from her current seat, to the one in front of Troy's, and everyone else managed to run to their normal seats.

Troy sighed as he stared at the back of her head…this might be very hard to do.

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Gabriella arrived through the front door that evening, drawing out a long breath. She had mostly managed to avoid Troy, with the occasional, "Hey how's it going?" in between periods. They hadn't talked about their intense make out session the other night, and she didn't know if it would ever be discussed…or _happen _again.

"Honey, are you alright?" She heard her mother ask, and Gabriella popped open an eye to see Lisa Montez looking worried in front of her.

Gabriella groaned. "I'm fine mom. Just a very weird day…" She said in annoyance, as she removed her back from the door, and headed up the staircase.

"Well do you want to talk about it?" Lisa asked her daughter, hoping maybe she'd actually talk to her for once. "I mean, I know we don't talk often…but I thought maybe it'd be nice if we could go out to eat…"

"No mom" Gabriella cut her off, placing her hands on the railing. "No offense, but I really don't think I want to talk to you about it. It's not something I'd discuss with my mom" She added, with a roll of her eyes, but she couldn't help but feel a pain of regret as those words slid out of her mouth.

Lisa's small smile faltered and she lowered her head. "Oh okay…" She said in a quiet voice.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Gabriella hopped back down the stairs to answer it. When she swung the door open, she found herself coming face to face with Troy. She raised her eyebrows in shock, "Whoa. What are you doing here?"

"I uh…just wanted to…" Troy started, but they were interrupted by Lisa's head popping through the crack in the doorway. She smiled at him and held out her hand.

"Why…is this one of your friend's from school, Gabriella?" Lisa grinned over at her daughter, who silently cursed her mother for interrupting them, giving her a glare.

"Yes mom…this is Troy Bolton. Troy, this is my mother Lisa Montez" Gabriella introduced them, and Troy politely shook Ms. Montez's hand,

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Montez!"

"You as well Troy…well Gabriella, I'm going to go start dinner" Lisa said quickly, finally getting the message from Gabriella that she wanted to be left alone, due to the looks she had been giving her. When her mother was finally gone, Gabriella looked over at Troy again.

"So you were saying…" She started, and Troy nodded his head.

"Anyways, I was just coming by to tell you that…well just meet me at my house tonight at 10…actually, if I'm not outside of my house by then…just wait behind the cars in the driveway" Troy explained quickly, looking up and down the roads.

"Okay…" Gabriella agreed, in a weird tone. She had no clue what was up with him, but she felt a sudden rush of excitement as he told her to meet him.

"Alright see you then!" He told her, waving a goodbye, and turned to walk back down the steps towards his car. Gabriella watched him go, and figured she would never be able to understand guys at all.

When Gabriella shut the door, she suddenly felt angry again, "Mother!"

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Just like she had promised Troy, Gabriella parked her car across from Troy's house at ten o'clock, seeing him standing in the driveway for her. She quickly and quietly got out of her car and shut the door, running across the road to his house, to meet him.

He smiled as she neared him, and he held out his hand. "Come on…follow me" Troy told her, as he held tight to her hand, and led her up his driveway, to his front door. He found himself quietly opening it to the dark house, and Gabriella wrinkled her brows in confusion, wondering where he was taking her.

Gabriella felt a sudden rush of excitement as they started walking up the stairs, where Troy turned around to her, and put a finger to his lips, signaling they had to be quiet. She nodded her head, biting her lip, as they crept up the stairs and down a hallway towards a room.

The door was slightly ajar, and Troy pushed it open further, and when Gabriella was in full sight of it, she automatically knew it must be his room. Troy let go of Gabriella's hand for a second to rummage around the room, grabbing a blanket, and then walking over to his window.

Gabriella walked towards him, as he opened the window and threw the blanket up towards the roof. "What are you doing?" She whispered to him, and he only put a finger to his lips, and held out his hand again.

Taking a step back, Gabriella was unsure of what they were about to do. Troy noticed her uneasiness, and looked her straight in the eye. "Just trust me" He said as quiet as he could be.

Gabriella gulped lightly, but finally stepped forward again, placing her hand in his. Troy grasped it tightly, as he started to climb out the window, keeping a firm grip on her hand in the process. Once he was outside, he turned back and crouched down, touching Gabriella by the waist.

She shivered lightly at his touch, but realized he was wrapping his arms around her, to help her get out onto the roof. Getting slightly scared, as she looked down towards the ground, Gabriella gripped a hold of Troy's jacket tightly, and he kept his arms around her.

"It's alright Brie…just follow me" He whispered in her ear, and Gabriella looked up at him mesmerized, realizing that for the first time he called her a nickname. Just smiling down at her, he released his grip and held her hand again, as he started to make his way further up on the roof.

Gabriella followed him silently as he reached the blanket he had thrown up again, and sat down right next to the attic window of his house. Pulling Gabriella down with him, she was still confused as to what they were doing.

Once they were seated, Troy pointed to the sky. "Just look up" He told her simply, and Gabriella gasped as she came in full vision of the stars. They were so beautiful to her; she had never known that a city like this could be so beautiful.

"Oh my…Troy…this is beautiful" She gasped, and Troy just grinned over at her. Gabriella removed her hand from his, and instead linked her arm around his, gently placing her head on his shoulder.

Troy sighed, as her wrapped his arm around her, pulling her slightly closer to him. "I come up here a lot to think about things…just basically about my family, my friends, and my entire life, I guess. I figured you needed a slight break, and just come up here to think."

Gabriella removed her head from his shoulder, and looked up at him, her eyes glossy. "Thank you…" She said for the first time in awhile, and really meaning it. "How did you know?"

Troy just shrugged. "You know, those calls that I've been getting from you late at night about your mother and everything…I haven't forgotten about them. I care a lot about you, and I think you just need a break from everything…just forget all the problems for one night" He smiled down at her.

Gabriella was amazed by his speech. She felt like she had known him for all her life…like he was part of her soul. Her heart seemed to be pounding hard against her chest, as she felt the wind send a breeze through her hair. "You amaze me Troy Bolton" She whispered in a low voice, as she shivered a bit from the cold.

Troy chuckled lightly, and grabbed the blanket next to him, throwing it around both of their shoulders. "And you amaze me too Gabriella Montez…to tell you the truth, I've never seen this side of you" He told her honestly, and she glanced at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked him patiently, not really quite getting what he was talking about.

Troy just shrugged and sighed, as he leaned his head down to hers and rested it lightly on her hair. "I don't know…it's just most of the time you seem to care a lot about only yourself. I know that _you_ know it's not all about you…so why do you act like it?" He asked her curiously, really wanting an honest answer.

Gabriella bit her lip; she hadn't expected that answer, but she really had no excuse for the way she had been acting. That was mostly what had caused all of her problems with her mother, and she knew Troy had figured it out when she talked to him.

Looking up into his eyes again, she saw those blue ones staring down at her intensely. It was moments like this, that she just wanted to lean up and kiss him. But she knew it wasn't appropriate for the time, because she knew he wanted a truthful answer.

"I honestly don't know…" She started whispered, not taking her eyes off of Troy, "I guess…I've never lived a life like this before, where I didn't have to act like it."

She found that after she had finished whispering, Troy's nose was now touching hers, and Gabriella got the feeling that she had said the right thing. It was her honest answer, and she knew Troy wanted nothing more now than to kiss her.

Gabriella's eyes drifted to a close again, succumbing what she knew was that very special moment away. This is what she had been dreaming of since she was little…to kiss someone under the stars. And it happened.

Their lips met, and this kiss was slower than the one they shared at the club the other night. It was completely unhurried, and Gabriella felt herself melting into it, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling her body closer to him.

Troy felt complete sparks as they kissed, and he grabbed the blanket that was loosely hanging around Gabriella's shoulder, and wrapped it all the way around them, so they seemed warm enough, tight into a ball.

Gabriella felt Troy's tongue slowly slip into her mouth a little while later, and shortly after that, they were in need of air. They both pulled apart, gazing at each other. Gabriella turned in his arms, so that she was resting her head against Troy's chest, looking up into the stars.

Troy's body felt so warm to her, and she sat there listening to his heart pounding in his chest. She was smiling widely, knowing that this was the most beautiful thing she had shared with anyone before.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

Aww…well I hope you guys liked this chapter! I kept 'awwing' myself when I was writing this, I just couldn't help but get all cheesy and mushy. Haha. And no-they still aren't together. Well not officially anyways, but they might as well be, huh? By the way, this was by far the longest chapter written yet…aha.

Anyways, I'll update the next chapter soon if you review, eh?

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	10. Chapter 8

**Hey again! I hope you all loved the last chapter…I'm sorry that Troy and Gabriella aren't together yet though…haha. I really hate making you guys wait. So I hope this chapter makes up for it! Thanks for all the supportive reviews!**

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

**Chapter 8**

"Alright…and action!" Gabriella giggled, pressing 'record' on her sidekick. She pointed it towards Troy, and nodded towards him to start talking. The two were sitting in her bedroom, two days later, and were about to send a video to her friends back in New York.

Troy waved and smiled to the camera, "Hey, this is shout-out to Gabriella's friends back in the city…you are watching the hottie of the town Troy Bolton…ladies my number is…"

"Troy!" Gabriella shrieked, before bursting out into a fit of giggles. Troy grinned, when she realized that he was just teasing and just rolled his eyes. Gabriella playfully punched his shoulder, before turning the video screen so that it was showing her. "Sorry guys that was just some _weirdo_…"

"A very _hot _weirdo" Troy cut in, popping his head into the video quickly, before Gabriella pushed him hard enough, so that he fell to the floor. Gabriella started giggling all over again, before regaining composure to continue her video.

"_Anyways_, I have a LOT to tell you about what's been going on here…" Gabriella hinted, secretly moving herself, so that it showed Troy in the background, "But in the meantime, I love you guys…drink some Starbucks for me! Ciao!"

Gabriella finished, and pressed 'end record' before pushing a few more buttons so that she was sending it. She flopped the phone down onto the bed, before turning her eyes to the floor to glare at Troy.

He held up his hands in defense, as he stood up. "You were the one who wanted me in the video…" He said defensively, and he heard her giggle again. Troy smiled, knowing that giggle was like music to his ears, and sat down next to her.

She sighed lightly, and moved so that she was resting her head on his shoulder. Troy grinned, and just put his arms around her, and the two sat there in complete silence, just enjoying the others company.

"Gabriella, Troy what are you two…" Lisa Montez opened the bedroom door, and saw the two sitting like they were. They quickly moved apart from each other, both blushing. "I'm sorry…did I interrupt something?" She asked smirking, and that just made Gabriella glare at her mother even more.

"No mom…we were just…talking" Gabriella lied, and knew from the corner of her eye, that Troy was giving her a weird glance.

"More like laughing…you two certainly have fits for giggles, you know that? I can hear you from downstairs!" Lisa exclaimed, chuckling to herself, and saw the kids just scratching the back of their necks nervously. "Well I'll be downstairs…"

Lisa shut the door again, and yet there was still that awkward silence. After a moment, all seemed to be forgotten, and Gabriella moved so that her head was on Troy's shoulder again. He was surprised by her actions so soon after the awkwardness, but still rewrapped his arms around her.

"Mm…that school wears me out, Troy. I never knew Sharpay could argue with me so much…" Gabriella started to talk, to strike up a conversation. Troy chuckled, and it seemed to vibrate through Gabriella's system.

"Yeah really…she's happier than ever with you. And take that as a compliment…I mean I made her really mad before and…well yeah. Let's just say, it wasn't pretty" Troy ended with a shake of his head, and Gabriella threw her head back with laughter.

She snorted, "Sounds like you."

It was only a moment later that she took that back, because before she knew what was happening, she found herself all tangled up with Troy on the bed, as he tickled her to death. "Troy…stop!" She giggled, trying to pry his hands from her stomach.

"You just intentionally insulted me…and you want me to give _you _a break? Never, Montez!" He bellowed, and just started to tickle her harder. Soon Gabriella was kicking her legs in the air, and Troy was enjoying how ticklish she was. "Jeez Brie…this'll definitely bring your mom up again, now!" He teased her.

Deciding she had enough, he stopped, but still remained his position pinned on top of her. Troy glanced down at her; she most definitely looked radiantly beautiful, with her dark curls fanned out onto the bed. He watched her bite her lip nervously, and he wandered what was happening to him.

Pressing his hands to either side of her cheeks, he started moving closer downward, to her lips. Gabriella closed her eyes, thinking it was about to happen again. She sighed on the inside, knowing that they were going to keep going through a routine: they'd kiss…and then act like they totally forget about it the next day.

Moments before his lips were pressed against hers he made a swift turn, and leaned up to kiss her forehead instead. Gabriella was surprised by his actions, and opened her eyes almost immediately, to see him rolling off of her, and getting off the bed.

Troy glanced towards the windows, and noticed the dark skies. "It's about to rain…and I have to work tonight" He informed Gabriella, as he looked towards her, now sitting up on the bed. "I should probably head over to the restaurant before the storm hits" He said quickly, grabbing his keys off her dresser.

Gabriella was now standing up, as she tucked a curl behind her ear. "Okay…" She replied, and gave him a wave. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then" She said her goodbyes, and he gave her a slight nod, before retreating out the door.

Gabriella groaned inwardly; the last parts of their conversation was so awkward…she hadn't meant for it to be that way. She headed towards the seat right by her window and sat down on it. She watched as it started to sprinkle outside, and sighed. What was going on with her?

Hearing the door slightly open, Gabriella looked up at it hopefully, thinking Troy had come back. She frowned, when it was only her mother again. "Honey I just saw Troy leave…he looked weird to me. Is everything alright?" She asked. Gabriella was getting annoyed; she knew her mother was only concerned, but she didn't want her to be nosy.

"Everything is fine mom. Why does everything always have to be all wrong?" Gabriella snapped, knowing that she was just stressed right now.

Lisa sighed, finally fed up to how her daughter always acted towards her when others aren't around. "Gabriella Elizabeth Montez…please don't give me that tone. I know you are still mad at me for making you move…"

"Mad?" Gabriella cut in, and then gave a sarcastic laugh, "No I'm still furious, mom! I loved New York…it was practically my home. And being here…" She yelled, and then turned to look out of the window again. "It's so boring…there's nothing to do…"

"Oh so are you telling me you don't like having Troy around?" Lisa argued back, putting her hands on her hips. "I know something is up between you two…don't think I don't see it! You seem to be a lot happier with him than…"

"Than what? Than with my friends back home?" Gabriella shouted, now standing up. She was completely outraged; how could her mother think something like that? She absolutely loves her friends back home, and will always care about them. "Sure, I have friends here now…but in a year I'm going off to college, and I'll be back to where I belong!"

Lisa sen a stony glance at her daughter. She felt like she didn't even know her. "So what…these are your temporary friends, then? I _know _that I did NOT raise my daughter to act this way…" She stepped her foot down, and Gabriella realized she was almost to tears.

They both stood there, mother against daughter, facing each other. Gabriella heard the rain beating down hard against the house, and Gabriella suddenly felt like crying. But she just couldn't show it. "Well then…maybe you should overlook that thought" She said more heatedly than ever, and grabbed her phone and keys, before marching out of the door.

"Just where are you going?" She heard her mother shouting at her, as she bounded rapidly down the stairs.

"Out! To go talk to Troy…I'll be back soon" Gabriella ended the conversation angrily, opening the door swiftly, and then slamming it shut. She knew she was throwing a humongous hissy fit, but she couldn't control her emotions. Her relationship with her mother…it was completely shattered.

And there was nothing she could do about it now.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella burst through the door of the restaurant, soaking wet. There was absolutely no one there, except Troy, who she saw snap his head towards her the moment the doors opened. It was hard to tell whether she was crying or not, because she was completely drenched from head to toe.

"Gabriella?" Troy asked, now dropping the rag from his hands, now seeming completely alert. She burst into tears as she ran into his chest hard, completely pounding onto it. "Sh…" He whispered in her ear, as he held her to him tight. She knew by the shake in his voice that he was worried for her, but she just clung onto him as she cried into his shoulder.

After a few moments, she broke apart from him, and Troy got in full view of her tear-stained face. Before he could ask what in the world was going on, she asked him a completely out of the blue question.

"How can you stand living here? How can you stand waking up every morning knowing that you probably weren't going to meet a new person…that you haven't already met?" Gabriella breathed out in wonder, and he knew she was being completely serious about it.

Troy paused for a moment. He was unsure about how to answer that question; however, he just looked over into Gabriella's eyes…and he suddenly knew exactly what his answer was. "I didn't know that meeting people was that great…" He started, and Gabriella looked up curiously, desperately wanting to know the rest.

"Until I met you…" He finished in one breath, and before Gabriella knew it, his lips were reclaiming hers yet again, his hands already wrapping around her waist tightly. She knew she should probably be talking to him about her problems instead…but she just couldn't help it. The wonderful feeling from the other night was roaming through her again, and she felt so much love and compassion in the room.

Troy backed her up towards the closest wall in the dim lit building, and they found themselves in a replay of that Saturday night when they first kissed. They fought for control of each other's lips, and absolutely did not want to pull away for air, but they knew they had to have oxygen. Troy tore his lips from hers, his breathing ragged.

"What does this mean?" Gabriella asked shakily, holding tight to a bundle of Troy's shirt. He was now completely wet from Gabriella's soaked body pressed up against his, but he absolutely didn't care.

"Whatever you want it to mean" Troy said immediately after that, and in no time, he found a pair of lips on his yet again.

It was then that Troy knew he got his answer.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

And BAM…just like that, I managed to get them together. How amazing huh? No seriously…just kidding. :-) I actually am kind of…unsure though about this. I feel a little guilty for this happening right after Gabriella's fight with her mother…but I don't know. Perhaps it was sensing a break from everything…just to let it all go. And hang loose.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next one will be up shortly!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Why hello again! Hehe. Well while I'm writing this, I'm pretty much sick right now. Blah. But when you guys'll read this, I probably won't be. Haha. But yeah…I've pretty much lost my voice, and I've resulted into writing more. Hey, you win some you loose some. :-)

Hope you guys liked the last chapter, and I hope you'll enjoy this one.

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!**

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

**Chapter 9**

After that night, Troy and Gabriella were inseparable. They were hardly apart; the only time they seemed to be apart was at night time when they had to sleep. But while one relationship was completely blissful for Gabriella, the other one was not. Since Gabriella is not around the house anymore, it has put an even more strain on Gabriella and her mother's relationship. They haven't really talked or blown up at each other since that night; and that's even worse than when they _were_ fighting with each other.

However, Troy doesn't know what is going on. He thinks they are talking; but not yet back into a full relationship. Gabriella has no intentions on telling him, only because she doesn't want to make it a big deal.

Gabriella was thinking about all of this, while lying in her bedroom one random night in October. She was propped up against the window, watching the leaves fall down in all different directions. She half smiled, for being half happy, and half not. All she knows is that she is thankful to have Troy. She didn't know what the feeling inside her was, but she thinks it is love.

Her half smile quickly turned into a full smile, as she saw that familiar truck pull to the side of the curb in her driveway. She heard the honk sound, and she scrambled from where she was perched on her seat, and gathered up her things.

Running down her stairs as fast as she could, she was about to swing the front door open when a voice she hadn't heard in days, sounded. "Where are you going, Gabriella?"

Gabriella turned swiftly around, as her mother stared at her in confusion. She heard the honk sound again, and Gabriella was desperate to leave the house. "It's Saturday night; I always go out with Troy to the club on Saturdays. Don't you remember?" She sighed, as she said her speech as fast as she could, looking towards the window.

"But…couldn't you just stay home for _one _night? You are always gone, and you don't need to be!" Lisa told her daughter sharply, and all she got was a frustrated and fiery look back.

"Mom…I don't have time for this right now. I'm holding Troy up, and I have to go. I'll see you later" Gabriella responded dryly, giving her one last hard look, before opening the door, and closing it right behind her.

Lisa felt like that door was closing around her heart, instead.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella let out a long breath as she hopped down the steps in front of her house. She just survived another fight with her mother…she knew she just needed a moment to calm down before seeing Troy. As she glanced at him waiting for her in his truck, she knew she just couldn't tell him yet that things are just getting worse with her and her mother. That was the one thing she knew about the whole thing.

It was absolutely, positively, between her mother and herself.

When she decided she was okay, she practically ran to Troy's car, swinging the passenger door open. Stepping into the car, she turned to close the door beside her. Before she could even get settled into the car, she moved slightly to look in Troy's way, and felt lips against hers.

She grinned to herself, knowing it had only been a couple hours since she had felt the exact same thing. _He can't even go a second longer, can he? _Gabriella felt Troy moving across his seat slightly, and she was being pushed gently against the car door. She moved her fingers to trace and wind through Troy's hair, as she felt his hands slide up and down her back heatedly.

They both broke apart, panting, and Troy slid back into his seat, putting the shift into gear. Gabriella giggled as she smoothed out her top that was now slightly wrinkled. "If we keep this up, we won't be able to go overnight without each other!" Gabriella joked, and Troy just shook his head while playfully grinning to himself.

Troy focused on driving, while taking one hand off the wheel, and taking Gabriella's hand into his. "Yeah probably not…by the way, is everything okay? You took an awful longer getting outside than you usually do. Not fully prepped for me, eh?" He asked her curiously, adding on a little sarcasm on the end. He started rubbing little circles on her hand with his thumb.

Gabriella reached over with her other hand to hit him on the shoulder as he laughed, and just rolled her eyes. "Nah…just you know, stopped by my mom to you know, make sure she knew where I was going…" Gabriella said softly, switching her gaze to out the window.

Troy sighed inwardly. Something was definitely not right with her; she said that with such little integrity, that he immediately knew it was something more than that. But he also knew that if she wanted him to know, she would have told him. So he let it go.

They pulled into a parking space at the club, and Troy shut the engine off. He glanced over at his girlfriend for a second and huffed. "You ready?" He asked her, and she nodded. They were both pretty used to it getting wild each Saturday night there.

Troy got out of the car, and walked around to open Gabriella's car door for her, and she just laughed. Troy helped her down out of the car, and shut the door behind her when she was ready. Before they started moving, Troy placed a quick kiss to her lips, and beamed down at her.

"I figured since we won't be alone for a while, I might as well go for one last one" He chuckled, and that caused Gabriella to roll her eyes again at him. He turned his back to her suddenly, and bent down. "Hey, get up my back I'll carry my lady in, since she's wearing heels" He joked.

Gabriella threw her head back and laughed, but jumped on his back anyways. Once she got situated, he started moving towards the entrance. Gabriella sighed, propping her chin on Troy's shoulder, and placing a kiss to his ear quickly showing a sign of affection.

They arrived in side to a fully massive party already, the music blasted, and quiet chatter around the place. They spotted a corner table with all of the gang already sitting there and waiting on them, and Troy headed over there, still carrying Gabriella on his back.

The gang all looked up interested, when they saw Troy's choice of leading Gabriella into the club this week. Last week he had carried her like a bride carried over a threshold.

"Hey lovebirds!" Sharpay called out, and everyone at the table laughed. Gabriella jumped off of Troy's back and crawled into the booth next to Taylor. Troy took his seat beside her, and they cozily wrapped their arms around each other.

The whole group loved to watch them…they seemed to have such a deep connection, that all the gang ever felt they were doing half the time anymore was watching how they interact.

Troy kept placing kisses to her nose, forehead, cheek, and lips as they all sat there chattering around, and they didn't even notice that no one was even talking anymore. They all were, instead, mesmerized over how Troy had Gabriella wrapped around his finger; they watched as he leaned over to whisper in her ear, placing a kiss to it afterwards, and she burst into a fit of giggles.

"Alright" Taylor sighed, putting her water down. "What the heck is with you two? You're even more lovey-dovey with each other than usual…it's so darn adorable, but it never stops!"

Both of them laughed, and shared an embarrassing smile, but they didn't know how to respond to that question. Troy opened his mouth to speak, but instead of directing his eyes at everyone else, he looked straight down at Gabriella. "I don't know…it's just that all of you guys" He stopped and looked at them, waving his arm to circle around the table, "Have known each other all of your lives."

He stared back down at Gabriella, and she gave him a slight smile back. "I guess we're just making up for lost time" Troy whispered almost inaudibly, as he bent down and pressed another kiss to Gabriella's lips. They both heard the girls 'awwing' in the background, and the guys whooping.

They broke apart and Gabriella blushed as she looked away from him. She watched all the couples out there dancing, and felt Troy's arm around her, and she knew she was absolutely lucky to have him. Troy laughed and just hugged her tightly to his chest, pressing a kiss into her hair, knowing that she was feeling flustered.

"Let's Dance" by Vanessa Hudgens suddenly blasted through the speakers, and people started dancing more heatedly than to a slower song. Slowly but surely, both heads turned to look at each other sharing a discreet smile, both remembering that night.

Gabriella laced her hands through Troy's and pulled him up out of the booth. "Come on lover boy, let's dance!" Gabriella chorused, and Troy grinned at her, as she led him through the crowd of people.

Gabriella suddenly felt herself being pushed into Troy's chest, as a few people brushed quickly passed her. "Whoa…you okay there, my damsel?" Troy joked, slinging an arm around her shoulder as if he was protecting her from harms way.

As they both stood there dancing to the rhythm, Gabriella took both of Troy's hands in hers. "Yeah…I think I'm good…" She smiled, knowing that she had just determined that the feeling that she had been having in the pit of her stomach was most definitely love.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Alright, so I hope that was a lot of Troyella-ness for you guys in here:-) Hehe. I'm trying to decide right now if I should go for writing the climax of the story next, or just adding another filler chapter in…I might actually go for the filler chapter now that I think about it…because I think it's needed to explain a couple things.

Yes, that's it, another filler chapter is up next. I really hope you guys enjoyed this, and remember, the fillers will most definitely not be boring like my ones in the past…haha.

Thanks for the reviews so far!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Hello again everyone! Thank you all so much for all the reviews and support…it really means a lot to me, and also drives me to keep writing, so thank you all so much! I hoped you liked the fluff in the last chapter…sorry to say, but there will be a WHOLE lot more fluff in this chapter…aha.

I know that disappoints you all SO much! Hehe…just kidding. I hope you guys like it!

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

**Chapter 10**

"Why do we have to go camping?" Gabriella whined one Saturday morning, as Troy was practically dragging her out of her own house. He grinned as he leaned over to pick up her sleeping bag, and slung it over his shoulder.

"Aw…come on Brie…you said you'd go, and the whole gang is going to be there. So you are going…no questions asked. You'll love it, I promise!" Troy reassured his girlfriend, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and started walking to his truck.

Gabriella sighed as she snuggled closer to Troy, wrapping an arm around his waist. The mid-November air was pretty cold, and the gust of wind blew into her face as she shivered into her jacket. She buried her face into Troy's torso and murmured, "Troooooy."

"Gaaaabi" Troy mocked back, dragging her name out the same way. "Come on…everyone else is going and can live with it…even Sharpay" Troy pointed out to her, as he opened her side of the car for her. He lifted her up into the seat, and slammed the door shut after her.

He rounded over to his side and got in, casually throwing her sleeping bag into the back seat. Troy started the engine, and they were headed off towards the lake, where they were swimming and putting up a campfire for the weekend. Gabriella sighed as she looked out the window, and watched as the occasional trees ran in and out of her view. Placing her head on the cold glass, she closed her eyes and breathed out softly.

Troy glanced over at her quickly, before turning back to the road. He placed a warm hand onto her upper arm gently, rubbing it back and forth affectionately. "Are you tired, baby?" He asked her, and all he got was a grunt in response. Troy chuckled, "Aw come on…you'll love it, I promise."

Troy was always promising on his word, so Gabriella decided to stick to it, as they rounded near to the perfect spot for the camping trip. The car moved forward in the grass, and the truck came to a halt in front of the rest of the gang, that were waiting patiently for the two.

They both opened their car doors and got out, Gabriella slightly rubbing her eye to get into clear vision again. Troy rounded the corner of the truck and just smiled, when she saw her glancing at him tiredly. "Someone didn't get good sleep last night…" Troy bugged her about it, and she shoved her hand into his shoulder when his presence was made near.

Troy let out a chuckle, and wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her to him as he rested his chin atop of her head. Their hug lasted about a minute longer, when they realized everyone staring and rolling their eyes at them. They broke apart to their dismay, and Troy walked over to the back of his truck and started getting out their things.

Gabriella watched him and smiled, before heading over to greet the girls with hugs. "How come it always takes you guys so long to get somewhere?" Sharpay teased her friend, and Gabriella just rolled her eyes to that comment.

Shrugging, she only replied jokingly, "Troy had some trouble kidnapping me."

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

It was only a few hours later, and everyone was determined to go for an afternoon swim. Gabriella emerged from her small tent that she had brought herself, in a cute little red polka dotted string bikini that hugged to her curves tightly. She spotted Troy nearby, in the middle of setting up his tent with his swim trunks on, and she decided to go over to him.

"Why hello there handsome" Gabriella greeted him with a wink, and Troy looked up from his project, and nearly dropped all the pieces of the tent he was holding in front of her. His throat seemed to be clogged up, and he was at a loss for words when he just stared her down.

Gabriella giggled suddenly, and that brought him out of his trance. "Wow…" He breathed, raking a hand through his hair, as he stood up from his knees. He walked towards her with a sparkling glint in his eyes, and hugged her around the waist. Leaning towards her ear he whispered, "You're beautiful."

She shivered as she felt his hot breath go into her ear, but she was determined to feel his lips against hers at the very moment…the physical attraction between them was so inevitable…that moment to be ruined by the sound of Chad calling out,

"Hey lovebirds! Quit making out, and come over here and see what we put up!"

Both Troy and Gabriella groaned, but nevertheless Troy laced his hand with hers, and they both walked over to the bay of the lake, and saw a big rope swing hanging off of a tree.

"Do you like it? You can go off it by yourself into the water, or go with another person!" Taylor squealed with excitement, as she steadily hoisted herself around the swing. Holding tightly to the rope, Chad pushed her forward, and for a moment she swung back and forth, before diving into the depths of the water. Taylor's head bobbed back to the top, and she let out a whoop.

Troy looked at Gabriella, and raised his eyebrows. "No…no way. Absolutely not!" Gabriella stomped her foot into the ground. "There's no way I am doing this! It's got to be freezing in there!" She shrieked, pointing to Taylor who was shivering as she swam in the water.

Chuckling, he pulled Gabriella towards the rope. "Aw…come on Montez…haven't you ever heard of having fun?" Troy poked his tongue out at her as he turned her to face the rope. She had her arms crossed around her chest, still not giving in. Troy suddenly touched her hips, and Gabriella jolted upward. "Would it help if I went in with you?"

Gabriella sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to give up; he already had a firm control over her. Troy knew there was more to it then the freezing air…and he also knew this must be one of her fears. She nodded hesitantly, and Troy kissed her hair lightly muttering a, "That's my girl", before hoisting her body up onto the rope.

Shrieking as Troy let go of her for a moment, she clutched tightly to the rope with all her might. It started moving forward and backwards softly from the wind, and Gabriella grew even more nervous. A second later, Gabriella felt Troy shift behind her, as he too wrapped his legs around the rope. He held onto it with one hand, and used the other to hold around Gabriella's waist. It was only a moment later that they felt someone push them forward and out above the water, and Troy squeezed her waist tightly.

"You can do this…trust me" Troy whispered in her ear when he felt her start to tremble and gently kissed her head once more as they gently swung back and forth. "On the count of three…one…two…three!" Troy shouted, and Gabriella took a deep breath as she felt herself let go of the rope, and plunge deep into the water.

It was immediately after they disappeared under the water, that Troy's hands found Gabriella's and he pulled her to him. He captured her lips into a passionate kiss, and they both found themselves kissing under water, as their heads bobbed back up towards the open. They emerged from underwater still kissing and holding onto each other, and they distinctively heard the cat calls and wolf whistles from the gang, but they seemed to not be listening.

They both broke apart breathlessly, and stared deep into the others eyes. "I'm so proud of you" Troy told her meaningfully, and Gabriella only grinned slightly, before dipping his head down for another kiss.

"Alright you two, break it up!" Taylor called out as she swam towards them in the water, splashing them lightly. Gabriella squealed as their lips parted again, and they both turned to glare at Taylor.

Gabriella felt herself relaxing a bit in the water, knowing it wasn't as cold as she had protested only moments ago. She broke free from Troy's arms, and dipped her head back into the water while floating on her back. She sighed as she looked up to the sky, and saw the sun beginning to set in. 

Troy watched her every move with amazement, and did not know how she seemed to be so breath taking every moment of her life. Every little thing that she did drove him crazy. Breaking his gaze off her, he looked around and saw his friends sharing a secretive smile at him, and he knew he had been caught staring.

But he simply did not care.

"Ah…alright, I'm getting out" Gabriella concluded after a moment in silence, and made her way past Troy, and out of the water onto the bay. Gabriella shivered in the cold, wrapping her arms around herself, desperately looking around for a towel. Groaning loudly in realization, she figured out that she forgot to bring one out from her tent. "Crap…"

"What's wrong, Montez?" Troy said from behind, and Gabriella turned around to see Troy ducking below her. Before she could protest, he started shaking all of the water out of his hair, and it flicked all over Gabriella's body.

"Ah! Troy stop it…you are such a jerk!" Gabriella screamed, as she felt even colder than before. She glared up at Troy's mischievous smile, and turned her back on him. She decided that she had to go back up to her tent to go grab a towel, but before she could move, she felt something warm drape over her shoulders.

Gabriella sighed, as she felt a white towel hang around her, and she pulled it even closer and closer to her to keep her all snuggled and warm. She felt relaxed when Troy's chest pressed against her back, and he rested his face into her wet hair. "Am I a jerk still?" He asked her softly.

Smiling to herself, realizing he was apologizing, she spun around in his arms and hugged him tight while kissing his jaw softly. "Nah…you were never a jerk."

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Gabriella let out a long breath, as she gazed up to the top of her tent. Every one else around her was sound asleep, but she couldn't seem to go herself. Troy was right; she was having the time of her life…just being with people she loved. She had never been camping before because she always had lived in the city, but she just now noticed there was more beauty to the country side than she imagined.

Turning her head, she knew Troy's tent was only a few feet away from her and she held her breath. She was desperate to be held in his arms, to just talk to him, but she knew he was probably already asleep. Deciding she would take the risk, she climbed out from under her sleeping bag, and gently moved to unzip her tent.

Placing her feet onto the cold, soggy grass, she quietly crept over to the tent next to hers. It was completely dark inside as she unzipped it gently, but as she climbed inside, a bright flash of light succumbed the tent and she saw Troy squinting his eyes at her holding a flashlight.

"Gabriella?" He asked sleepily, motioning for her that it was okay to move forward and over to him. Gabriella felt herself crawling on her knees over to her boyfriend, and when she reached him she buried herself into his open arms. He held her for a moment, before whispering quietly, careful not to disturb any of the others,

"What are you doing in here?"

Gabriella shrugged to herself, and lifted her head off of his chest to look him in the eye. "Couldn't sleep…just thinking about some things…" Gabriella spoke truthfully, and Troy just nodded understandingly.

Gabriella was amazed at how he knew she wanted to talk, as he gently lowered them both back onto his pillow, and she tucked herself inside the sleeping bag with him. Once they got situated in the bag, Gabriella dropped her head to rest on her side of the pillow, as he did the same facing her. "What's going on?" He murmured, reaching out to take her hand.

"It's just…" Gabriella paused, trying to find the right words to explain it to him and he patiently waited. "My life has seemed to be going so fast…and ever since my dad…" Gabriella stopped again, knowing she had never mentioned her dad in front of Troy. He expected that this was coming; he knew there was no father figure in the house, but he never wanted to question her on it unless she told him herself.

"Ever since he passed when I was ten, my life has been all in a rush. A blur it almost seems like…" Gabriella managed to pour out. She was amazed at how easily she could talk to Troy. She had never told anyone about her feelings before, and Troy did the best thing a person could do…he just listened. "It's been crazy just living with my mother…and life most definitely hasn't been easy on us. And with me going away for college next year…"

Gabriella felt herself pausing again. She knew she heard Troy's breath hitch into his throat. Oh god; she hadn't told him of her dream plans to attend NYU…even though it didn't really seem as flattering right now.

The next time she looked his way, he was sitting up from his spot, and gazing towards the entrance of the tent. Gabriella knew he was thinking about this; her going away would mean there would only be 6 or 7 more months to spend with each other…unless they tried the long distance relationship. She felt like crying for thinking about that. How could she have been so stupid and forget all about her plans? And what would she do now that Troy knew about them?

Deciding to herself she knew now wasn't the time to be talking or thinking about this. They should be enjoying life…not worrying about the future. She knew she wanted nothing more than to be with him, and by the way she saw the look in his eye, she could tell he wanted the same thing.

Gabriella sat up herself, and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. Sighing to herself, she gently placed her head onto Troy's shoulder, and just stared off as well. Troy glanced towards her as he felt her touch, and just pulled her closer to him. Troy knew that girl he held in his arms, would have to be apart of his definite plans for his future.

And he was going to, somehow no matter what it took, make that happen.

Keeping her still in his arms, he moved gently back onto the pillow, pulling Gabriella down along with him. He turned and their noses touch for a brief moment, as he leaned in to catch her lips in a simple, yet pure loving kiss. When they broke apart, Gabriella snuggled closer in Troy's arms, burying her face into his chest as she drifted off to sleep.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

I hope you guys enjoyed this! I needed to write this chapter before the climax for the next chapter…well just because I had to. You'll find out later. :-)

Deciding that it was the right time…I added a Troy/Gabriella sleepover. Haha. But just to remind you all, this is a T-rated fic and will remain a T-rated fic. In my personal opinion, I do not believe in anything in that sort before marriage…so I'm writing Troyella to believe the same thing I do. I hope you all understand.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!!!!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Hello guys! I hope you all are enjoying this story…I think this is one of my favorite ones I have written yet! Anyways, like I said this chapter is basically the climax of the story. Well technically…I guess I can't say that. The climax is broken up into two parts. The first part is in this chapter…and then the next part is in the next chapter. Well, if that even makes sense…haha.

Enjoy this chapter guys! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far.

**Disclaimer: **I am in no way affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!!**

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

**Chapter 11**

Gabriella emerged from her silver convertible on Monday morning, groaning tiredly as she slammed the door shut. She made her way up the steps to the school, yawning occasionally, keeping a look out for her boyfriend or her friends. Receiving a 'ding' on her cell meaning that she had a text, she flipped it open to read it.

_Hey Gab-ella. Hehe…what are you up to this morning? You didn't call me back over the weekend, but whatever. Me and the gals are at Starbucks…ciao._

Gabriella rolled her eyes when she read that the text was from none other than Shelly. She just realized she hadn't talked to her for a while…she had been so busy during the weekend hanging out with everyone and having fun on the camping trip that she had totally forgot.

"Hey Gabs!" Taylor called out, and Gabriella looked up from her phone when she was in mid-reply to the message and smiled. Waving at one of her best friends, she quickly tucked her phone in her purse and ran over to hug her.

"Hey Tay…how are you feeling this morning?" Gabriella asked her, hearing Taylor grunt in response. The whole gang had arrived back to their respective house around ten last night, after a full afternoon of making marshmallows and diving into the lake. It was sure an experience no one would forget.

Gabriella giggled at her friend, and felt someone squeeze her from behind. "Hey Ella!" Sharpay said cheerfully, reaching over to hug Taylor as well. They both turned to look at the blonde like she was crazy, for being so awake in the morning.

"Where's your lover boy this morning?" Taylor teased, as they all glanced around and found none of the guys anywhere to be seen. Gabriella just shrugged,

"I don't know. We usually meet up somewhere before the first bell rings."

Taylor and Sharpay shared a knowing glance, and Sharpay decided to ask a question she had been curious about over the weekend. "So Gabriella…why weren't you in your tent yesterday morning?" She raised an eyebrow, and Gabriella felt her cheeks go red. She hadn't known that her friends had noticed she had ever been out of her tent.

"Well…Troy and I had to talk. You know…no biggie." Gabriella shrugged off the question with such poise, that Sharpay was impressed. Crossing her arms, she was about to reply to that, but instead decided to keep her mouth shut as she glanced at something more interesting from behind.

Gabriella screeched loudly as someone wrapped their arms around her from behind, and planted a big, wet kiss on her cheek. "Ew…Bolton!" Gabriella groaned, reaching up to wipe the wetness off of her cheek. Before she could do anything else, she was held tightly to the waist, and was suddenly spinning around and around in the air.

"Ah! Troy…put me down!" Gabriella giggled, and he just laughed as she was being spun around and around. By now the whole gang had walked up to them rolling their eyes; they were still like flirt magnets with each other, even though they were together.

Finally Troy was out of breath, and lowered his girlfriend to the ground, but still kept his hands on her waist. He smirked downwards to the fiery brunette, "Miss me?"

Gabriella just smirked back, and connected her hands behind his neck. "Of course…I always do" She whispered only to be heard for his ears, and that was enough for him to not be able to be contained, reaching down to kiss her gently.

"Those guys are too much…" Sharpay managed to breathe out, amazed at how two people can be so into each other and fascinated with the other as much as they can. She felt an arm wrap around her, and looked up to see Zeke smiling, and knew she felt the same thing with him.

Both Troy and Gabriella broke apart breathlessly, but that didn't last long, before they couldn't hold it in any longer. The four other friends watched and groaned as the pair leaned down for another kiss.

"Apart, you two!" Mrs. Brooks snapped at the youngsters, who fiercely broke apart while wiping their mouths, "I swear the World should have never let the opposite sex mingle with each other…"

Mrs. Brooks walked away from the duo, while still muttering some things, and all the rest of them stood in silence…watching the bustling crowd of students pass each of them. Troy and Gabriella each shared a quick knowing glance, before bursting into snorts and fits of laughter. Troy grabbed a hold of Gabriella's wrists, and pulled her gently towards him while still laughing, their noses grazing slightly before he leaned up to kiss her forehead.

As for the rest of their friends though, they are shared a roll of the eyes, while pairing up and walking off with the other, all knowing where this was leading to. The two seemed not to notice, still all caught up with each other. Gabriella cleared her throat quickly, and Troy blinked to let her know he was listening,

"Are you okay with what I told you on Saturday?"

Troy bit his lip; he certainly had thought a lot about them over the past weekend. But now he could do nothing but nod, "Yeah. I'm definitely okay."

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Over the next few days, Gabriella saw Troy basically only at school, but for at least now their relationship seemed to cool off a little bit and they didn't have the need to be around each other 24/7. "I know Taylor…" Gabriella sighed over the phone, knowing her friend was badgering her about how proud she was of her for being able to keep away from Troy for a while. She giggled once more, "Alright I'll see you at the club tomorrow…okay, bye."

Gabriella hung up her cell, and returned to her weekend homework. She was determined to get it done beforehand, planning to spend her weekend with Troy and the gang. Turning her radio up even louder, she bobbed her head to the music as she concentrated on a problem.

The door opened to Gabriella's room slightly, and a figure walked in. Gabriella barely heard it though, too caught up in her thoughts. "Gabi?"

Gabriella snapped her head up, to see her mother staring intently down at her. She immediately dropped her pencil; she still had yet to talk to her mother after their big blow-out, and she figured that's what she wanted. "Uh…yeah?" Gabriella responded hesitantly, shifting slightly in her seat.

Ms. Montez cleared her throat, seeming to still not know what to mention first. "So…so how was your camping trip?" She asked just to strike up a conversation. Gabriella was know standing up, furrowing her brows at her mother.

She walked over to her window and gazed out. "Mom…" Gabriella started, turning her attention back to her, "That was last weekend. It's Friday now…and it was fine."

That short answer was enough to make Lisa Montez cry out in desperation to her daughter. Gabriella was startled when her mother sat on her bed, tears dripping down her face. "Is this really what it has come to, Gabriella? Are we just not going to speak for the rest of our lives?"

All these questions seemed to boil hard into Gabriella's mind, and she swallowed hard. Crossing her arms, her own eyes seemed to well up with tears, as she sunk down onto the seat by the window. "Mom…you can't just come in here and expect everything to be okay between us, just because you wanted to ask how my life is going!" Gabriella exclaimed with slight fury, her vision now growing blurry.

Ms. Montez stared into her daughter's eyes, and saw no compassion at all. Gulping down a choking sob into her throat, she clasped her hands tightly in her lap. "I didn't…I didn't expect that…" She shook her head, covering her face with her hands.

Gabriella was now looking to the ground. She couldn't bear to look into her mother's tear-stained face. It was just too hard for her. Yet, she seemed to still not be willing to forgive and forget the hard times. "You don't understand…it's different since dad died. You and I both know it! Our relationship will never be the same…why can't you face it?" Those words stung to Gabriella's heart, even though they came out of her own mouth. It was one of those things you wanted to snatch back up and swallow it, but just didn't have the heart to say sorry.

She could hear her mother's silent sobs…she knew she had just upset her even more. Gabriella squeezed her eyes shut tightly, refusing to let her own tears out. Just thinking of how her father, mother, and herself always used to be so much like a normal family…was just too hard to bear.

"You are all I have Gabriella…you're my sunshine. Without you…can't you see? I've already lost your father…and I can't bear to lose you too. You are still alive, but it feels like you aren't..." Lisa Montez gripped her own words, with such emotion that she could not sustain. Standing up quickly, she walked out of Gabriella's doorway, leaving a crying daughter.

Screw trying to be strong. Screw everything. Gabriella burst into sobs, as she sunk down to the ground. Her whole body shook, as she finally cried for everything she was losing.

And that was her mother.

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Troy sat in his bed staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Nickelback playing throughout his CD player. He sighed, thinking about Gabriella for the fiftieth time that night. She hadn't called him to talk about their plans for tomorrow, and that worried him. She always called him; especially when she hasn't gotten to see him much lately.

Troy shot up startled as he heard something hard hit the glass of his window. Pushing his headphones off of his ear, he sat and listened in silence, and heard the same noise yet again. Squinting at the clock, he realized it was almost 11 at night. He quickly pushed the covers off of him, and walked over to the window, pulling it up to open it. His grin grew wide as he saw the petite brunette girl with a handful of rocks in her hands, but his smile soon faltered as he saw them slip from her hands the moment she saw him.

Watching her every move, he saw her sinking to the ground, her whole body shaking onto the grass. "Gabriella…" He breathed in horror, and that was enough to make him bolt out of his room and down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could make it. He opened the front door silently, shutting it slowly behind him. His eyes trailed over to where he heard the soft sobs of the girl, and he practically ran over to meet her.

Crouching down, he put his hand gently on her back. "Oh God Gabriella…its okay, sweetheart" He whispered to her gently, pulling her shakily into his arms. Flinging her self around him, Gabriella cried into his shoulder softly, and he just rubbed her back.

Troy kissed her hair, just whispering sweet nothings into her ear, while slowly rocking her back and forth. He had no idea what had caused this, but for now all he could do was just hold her.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

And that is the end of part 1 of the climax! I'm sure the way this chapter went was no surprise or shock to any of you, but I assure you things worsen for Gabriella in the next chapter. And not just with her mother…although I haven't really given hints as to what's going to happen.

Any guesses anyone? By the way who does Mrs. Brooks remind you of? Haha. Thanks for all the reviews and support, they mean a whole bunch to me! Thank you to everyone!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed part 1 of the climax…it really wasn't a part 1 chapter…but I keep saying that for some reason. :-) Anyways, thank you all so much for the amazing reviews. They mean a LOT for me, and the fact that total strangers take their time to write a review back really means a lot. Haha.

I am so sorry for the wait. School has really been getting to me, and truthfully I've had so many moods where I just can't WRITE. Finals are this week too...urgh...so you're lucky you all are getting a chapter! Ha, just kidding.

I desperately hope you guys like this chapter...although I'm not so sure about it...and you'll find out soon, why.

**Disclaimer: **I am not affiliated with High School Musical or any related characters.

**PLEASE R&R!!!!!**

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

**Chapter 12**

Gabriella stared ahead at the blank wall, giving no expression to her face. She heard Troy sigh deeply from behind her in the bed, rubbing her back softly, as he lay down on his bed, the covers wrapping over him. Gabriella was sitting up, tear stains visible on her wet cheeks, her mascara slightly runny.

"Brie…Gabriella…talk to me" Troy whispered. It was probably the only sentence he had pleaded to say in a half an hour. Other than that, he sat and watched her, comforting her when she stared off into space.

"My mom…" Gabriella spoke, Troy lifted his head off of his pillow and sat up. "I'm sorry I lied to you…but everything has not been okay with my mom. We haven't spoken in weeks, and tonight was probably the biggest fight of all."

Tears were rolling again, and Troy gently turned Gabriella to face him. She looked up at him with her brown eyes showing sad emotion, and he hugged her tightly to him. He could hear her muffled crying into his chest, and he just kissed her forehead in response, rocking her slightly.

"Sh…it's okay sweetie…it's okay Brie…" Troy tried to reassure her, and she only pounded at his chest exasperatedly. Her cries became louder, and he knew he had only upset her more, silently cursing himself.

Gabriella lifted her head off of Troy's chest lightly, reaching up to touch his cheek. He grabbed a hold of the hand on his cheek gently, rubbing his thumb over it. "My dad kept my mom and I together…we were always fighting. And somehow he just kept working his magic and helping us get through…and now that he's gone everything has been falling apart!"

Troy guided her head back to his chest, his fingers tangled up in her curly hair. He bent over to her ear, and started whispering. "Brie your mom and you need to work things out…no matter what, your dad can not be there anymore. It hurts, I know it does Brie, but you are strong. You can get through this, and stop it before it gets worse. But only you can. Gabriella let me in…let me love you, care about you, and be there for you…you don't have to hide from me."

Troy moved away from her ear, and immediately found lips on his. He smiled slightly through the kiss, his fingers still tangling up, gently lowering her down onto the bed. He moved slightly to hover over her, placing his hand onto her cheek lovingly. Gabriella kissed him with as much passion as she knew, circling her arms around his neck tightly. Troy kept a firm grip with one hand on the side of her waist, the other that was pressed to her cheek moving slightly upward to run through her hair. Gabriella sighed in relaxation when she felt his fingers through her hair…only deepening the kiss.

This went on for another few minutes, when the necessity to breathe came in tact. They broke apart breathlessly, Troy leaning his forehead gently to hers. They closed their eyes for a second, Troy still holding himself above her. Both of them instinctively opened their eyes at the same time, Troy stealing a short kiss from her in the process.

A lock of brown hair flew into Troy's eyes at that moment, and Gabriella smiled while reaching up to touch it lightly, moving it out of his eyes. He watched her in amazement, feeling a sudden sense of rush go through him. Troy's eyes were filled with pure love, and he fought the urge to lean down and kiss her again. Instead he rolled off of on top of her, shifting the covers as he did so. He moved them over her and settled down onto his pillow, turning his head to hers.

"Thank you" Gabriella softly said to him, smiling for probably the first time that night. He only responded by putting a gentle kiss to her lips, forehead, nose, and then cheek. Snuggling closer and closer to her boyfriend, Gabriella rested firmly against him, steadying her breathing a bit.

Troy just pulled her as close to him as possible, while moving the covers over her. Kissing the top of her head one last time before burying his head into her hair he whispered, "You're welcome…always."

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Troy woke up to a shrill ringing of a phone…it sounded a lot like Gabriella's ring tone. He groaned before shifting over to look at the clock that read 7:00 A.M. He glanced at his girlfriend once as he smiled…he knew his mother would not be up yet, so they were safe. The ringing got louder and louder though, and Gabriella was shifting around under the covers.

"Troy…can you answer that phone?" Gabriella moaned into her pillow, noticing Troy's arm resting firmly around her waist. He groaned yet again, burying his face into her hair.

"But it's your phone…you answer it" Troy whined, mumbling and grumbling what not into her hair, and she laughed slightly. "Pleaasse…." Troy moaned again, when he heard her plea, and reluctantly sat up, squinting in search of the mobile device.

He spotted it sitting on his bedside table, and kissing Gabriella's shoulder lightly, he moved to reach for it. No matter what the phone wouldn't stop ringing and Troy figured it was her mother who would be trying desperately to reach her.

Pressing the 'talk' button, he held the small thing to his ear, "Hello?", he greeted, as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. Yawning, he quickly shut his mouth when he heard a guys' voice start talking.

"Uh…this isn't Gabriella…who is this?" The man on the other in said in an annoying and ticked tone. Troy glanced down towards the sleeping beauty, who had started steadily breathing again, which must of meant she had fallen back to sleep.

"This is Gabriella's boyfriend…Troy…who is _this_?" Troy said in monotone voice filled with curiosity…he hadn't meant to sound rude back to the guy, but he seemed not to have any manners at all.

Suddenly laughter filled throughout their whole connection, and Troy took the phone off his ear for a moment, staring weirdly and blankly at it. Putting it back to the ear, he noticed the guy was still laughing. _What is __with__ this guy?_ "You're Gabriella's boyfriend? Sorry punk…Gabriella is dating _me_. I'm her boyfriend from back home, Lucas."

Lucas only had to say that much and Troy's face became deeply pale. His lips seemed to quiver, and he suddenly felt his throat clog up. _Boyfriend?_ Troy thought, as he felt like he was going to drop the phone. Troy shut his eyes tightly, as he ended the phone conversation with Lucas. When he re-opened them, he felt tears drain his eyes.

Troy suddenly became furious…extremely mad. He narrowed his eyes onto the girl sleeping beside him in his bed…the one who he deeply cared about…and thought had cared about him back. Taking the phone that was still open, he lowered it towards Gabriella's ear, and clasped it shut loudly, and Gabriella jerked up almost immediately.

Groaning tiredly, Gabriella put a hand to her forehead. "Who was that?" She yawned curiously, not noticing the anger visible in his eyes. She felt startled when he suddenly threw the covers off of his body, and jumped to stand up.

Gabriella watched his movements closely as he drew out a long, loud breath, staring deeply out into his window. He ran a hand through his hair quickly, and then turned to glare at his unfaithful girlfriend. "You tell me" He said heatedly, and Gabriella jerked at the sharpness of his voice. "Oh wait you wouldn't…because you have lied to me about everything…including having another _boyfriend_."

Gabriella was now standing up. Shaking her head quickly, she was trying to make sense of what was happening. "Okay, what the hell are you talking about?" Gabriella exclaimed, her eyes showing only confusing.

"You know what, Gabriella? You are a VERY good actor…but don't act like you don't know!" Troy shot back sharply, his eyes and tone becoming very cold and harsh at the moment.

Gabriella felt like bursting into tears…no she didn't know what was happening, and it scared her a hell of a lot that Troy was acting this way. "Don't act like I don't know WHAT?" Gabriella cried back desperately, her arms falling limply to her sides.

"That you're cheating on me!" Troy now screamed, towering over her, glaring her down at every part of her body. He didn't care if he woke his parents up…he didn't know what to do. She hurt him in everyway possible…and he was angry.

Standing still, Gabriella whimpered a bit as he towered over her. His eyes softened slightly as he noticed how worried and scared she looked, and backed up off her. He clamped his hands into his face, and turned around so she couldn't see him. "Troy I don't know who you talked to but…"

"Lucas" Troy said sharply, cutting Gabriella off. He didn't want to hear what she had to say; he didn't even want her in his sight, or within reach. But at the same time, he wanted so desperately to hold her and shut his eyes tightly wishing that the pain would all go away and the circumstances would never be true.

Gabriella gulped. She had not heard from Lucas, since the day she walked out on him, never planning to go back. Gabriella bit her lip from sobbing out. How could he do this to her? And more importantly, how could he do this to Troy?

Gabriella was desperate now. "Troy please…look at me…" She cried, grasping his shoulder tightly, only to have it shrugged off furiously. "It's not what you think!" She tried again, tears now streaming.

Troy let out a sarcastic and bitter laugh, "Oh not what I _think_?" Troy now turned around to face her, extremely red in the face, only not as much anger…more hurt. "Oh that's rich Gabriella…how many times is that so typical for a girl to say when she cheats? Huh?"

"Troy will you just LISTEN gosh damn it!" Gabriella yelled loudly, and that made Troy snap up his head to meet hers. "It's NOT what you think! Fuck you Troy Bolton…you are supposed to TRUST ME! Why would you go listening to a dirt bag like him and…"

"Oh so now your boyfriend is a dirt bag? I'll make sure to tell him that the next time he calls you and I answer the phone…which will be never. I don't really want to see you anymore, Gabriella." Troy finished the last of his speech with bitterness as he said my name, folding his arms across his chest, staring out to the window.

The whole room was silent, and Gabriella started breathing deeply. It had sunk in what was happening…but it was all such a blur. Why was this happening to her? Her eyes filled with tears of grief…it couldn't be, it just couldn't be. "Troy…please…don't do this" Gabriella managed to croak out tearfully, her eyes boring into the back of his head.

Troy however did not turn around this time. "You know…I spent a lot of time thinking about you, Gabriella. You were part of my future plans…I thought I had it all figured out…I was going to move to NYU to be able to be with you…I loved you, Gabriella" Gabriella could heard the pain of regret in the back of his throat, and it felt like no matter if someone was stabbing her a million of times, it wouldn't hurt as much as this did. That was the first time he had told her that…and she wanted so hard for all of the pain to go away.

"Was?" Gabriella slipped out quietly, wanting so desperately for the 'was' to not be there. Gabriella choked on her tears…cupping her mouth with her hand. Troy still did not turn around at this…even though he more than anything hated to see her cry.

Nodding his head slowly, he felt his own tears slipping down his face. "Was…" Troy confirmed, gulping down a humongous pain in his throat. "I want you to leave, Gabriella."

Gabriella bit her lip, tears flowing inaudibly down her cheeks, her entire face runny. She stood there for a moment more, before silently turning to face the door. Before she had a chance to open it, it swung open, revealing a shocked Mrs. Bolton.

"What on Earth…Gabriella what are you…" You could tell she was confused, her eyes huge, but then soften as she saw the tearful looks on both of their faces. Gabriella refused to look at his mother, only silently brushing past her, and out the door.

Mrs. Bolton followed her with her eyes for a moment, before glancing shocked at Troy…what had just happened between the two? Before she had a chance to speak, Troy walked sharply over to the side of his bed, kicking it as hard as he could, whimpering as he sat on the edge of the bed, his face collapsing into his hands.

Troy shook with sobs, knowing that no matter how brave he had sounded a moment ago…it was even harder when she left. Troy was not brave at all; and he felt emptiness when he realized the one thing in his life that he needed…was now gone.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella burst through the front door of her house, her entire body shaking. Looking up, she found her mother standing there glancing at her with a look of surprise and relief. "Gabriella Montez, where in the World have you been? You cannot just run off like that…you made me worried to…"

However, she trailed off as she saw a line of tears streaming down her daughter's face. Before she could react at all, she ran full force into her mother's arms, sobbing loudly into her neck,

"I'm so sorry mom…I'm so sorry."

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Guys…it was a horrible pain for me to write this…but I hope you understand that it was needed. You probably all want to kill me now, and bury me somewhere in Antarctica…but I hope you understand.

Any predictions on what is to happen next? I promise to update really soon and not leave you guys hanging because of this huge cliffy. Please review this, and keep the reviews coming! Thank you all so much for the support so far! It is much appreciated!

**PLEASE REVIEW:-)**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hey guys! No words can express how sorry I am for not updating sooner, but here I am with a new chapter, so be grateful! Haha. There are exactly two chapters left and possibly an epilogue that I have to work on, but I have a feeling that, that shouldn't be too hard because I already know how I am going to finish this!

I hope you guys like this chapter, and once again sorry for the wait, especially for the way things ended last time...heh...sorry about that! So enjoy please! And **R&R!!! **I will also try and review your stories if you review mine! Thanks.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

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**Chapter 13**

Gabriella focused her eyes on the spot on the now whitened wall, as if her droopy eyes didn't have enough energy to blink or much less move to stare at a new location. She had been staring at that spot for probably about forever and a day, her whole heart filled with depression and sorrow, something she didn't think she would ever be able to get out of. Her life...no matter how hard she tried to make it better, it seemed to be only getting worse and worse. More and more hurt and anger was coming in, and she was afraid that if she moved, she would do something she or somebody else would regret for the rest of their lives.

She barely heard the soft knocking of the door, and ignored that certain somebody when they deciding to let themselves in. Footsteps padded across her room, making their way to Gabriella, but she pretended not to hear, knowing exactly who it was.

"Mija?" Her mother spoke softly, and Gabriella finally broke her gaze of staring at that ever so white spot and looked up into her mother's solemn eyes. The spoke with their eyes, asking questions, and Gabriella gave her the saddening answers. Finally her mother understood, and nodded her head sadly for her daughter.

"I'm so sorry Gabi...you'll get through this...you are a strong woman" Ms. Montez suddenly reached out to brush her daughter on the shoulder, and kept her hand firmly there are she spoke from the heart. Gabriella tearfully glazed her eyes on her mother, and suddenly felt more love for her than ever.

She had called her a woman. Someone who was strong, and would get through any obstacle she may obtain. But why didn't Gabriella feel like she was worth the strength?

Bending her head down again, Gabriella let a tear drip onto the comforter of her bed, watching it as it splashed and made a slight wet stain on the purple sheets. "Thank you mom...I really mean it" Gabriella found her strength to say, barely choking it out, the first time she had talked since reliving the story of her and Troy to her mother the day before.

Gabriella's mother smiled with accomplishment. She knew her and her daughter had just gotten back onto sort of solid grounds, but it was an improvement none the less. Patting her daughter affectionately on the shoulder again, she turned to leave, but remembered a question. "Do you still want to go Mija?"

Gabriella snapped her head up to look into her mother's questioning eyes. Gabriella sighed deeply, clicking her tongue as she knew she had to make a quick decision. "Yeah..." Gabriella managed out hoarsely, "Yeah...I think we should go."

Her mother nodded again and said one more thing, "Oh yeah...honey, you have a visitor." Gabriella's eyes widened, and she instantly begged and pleaded with her mom through their eyes, but her mother kept a stern voice. "Gabi...you should see this visitor. Please, it'll help."

And with one more stride, Gabriella's mother was no longer visible to her. Groaning, Gabriella put her head into her hands for a moment, and let out a large breath that she had been holding for almost more than a day.

"Gabriella?"

The small voice came from the opening between her door and the room, and Gabriella slowly lifted her head up curiously, to see who her mother had sent in for her...

Taylor. She should have known...Gabriella had no idea what Taylor was thinking at the moment, because she was showing absolutely no expression. Partly because she is probably confused as to what must've been going on.

"Hey Tay" Gabriella spoke quietly, standing up and moving across her floor slowly, opening up the drawers to her dresser delicately, and beginning to take clothes out of it. It was silent as she folded some of them up again neatly, and began placing a small pile on her bed.

Taylor scrunched up her eyebrows as she watched Gabriella swiftly move from one side of the room to another, carefully transporting clothes as she went. She noticed Gabriella's swollen eyes, and was more confused than ever.

"Gabriella...what's going on? What happened?" The questions finally tumbled out of Taylor's mouth, her voice sounding completely determined, as if she refused to leave until she got the answers.

Gabriella paused as she set some clothes down on her bed, and let out a long sigh. She then turned to look at Taylor square in the eye, knowing that this was the moment of truth. "My mom and I are going to New York for a few days to visit some friends and family, and Troy and I broke up." Gabriella stated that last part carelessly, and turned back around as she continued the process of packing.

Taylor stood for a moment comprehending things...and finally she understood what was real. "Wh-what? How? Why? Gabriella...don't tell me it's true!" Her voice filled with despair, and Gabriella was certain that for the moment she couldn't care less about her going to New York, and all she could think about was the break-up between Troy and Gabriella.

"It's very much true..." Gabriella gulped, hearing the resentment in her voice. But before she could get teary-eyed again, her memory traveled back to the words her mother had spoken that morning_. You'll get __through this...you're a strong woman_. So as she recalled those words, Gabriella stood tall, and spoke again, "I'm sorry Tay...but it is what it is."

Taylor heard Gabriella, but she more heard the tone of her voice. First resentment, then strength...then acting as if she didn't really care. How Gabriella managed to shrug off something that seemed like a tragedy to Taylor, was beyond belief for her. "Gabriella..."

"Taylor" Gabriella suddenly felt stronger than she everhad before, as she looked meaningfully into one of her best friends' eyes, "I'll be okay. Seriously...Troy and I have our reasons for this, and for right now...I think we both agree. It's best if we end things at the moment. It may have been hard for me to understand, but I think I do now. I hope you can understand, too."

Gabriella knew Taylor was feeling sorry for her, and it made Gabriella angry. The one thing she absolutely hated was someone feeling sorry for her, and it seemed to happen everywhere she went. It happened when Shelly felt sorry for her when things didn't work out between her and Lucas; it happened when Troy was there for her when she had her troubles with her mother; and now it was happening, when Taylor was here...listening to the story about the truth behind the break-up.

"But it's all a lie!" Taylor spoke furiously, after Gabriella had finished telling her exactly what had happened. "Gabriella, you can't possibly be telling me you're giving up...when none of it was true!" Taylor continued to yell, unable to believe that their relationship was over, just because of one phone call made by a stupid guy who liked to put false information into someone's head.

"Taylor...I know. Trust me, do you_ think _I want to just forget about it, and accept that Troy and I aren't together anymore? If anyone is hurt most by this, it's me. I mean, it's hard for me to believe that I trusted a guy like Lucas in the first place, but it's even harder for me to believe that _Troy_ never trusted me!" Gabriella spoke true to her words, suddenly feeling like crying it out. But she wouldn't; she was better than that, and she was stronger than that.

Taylor sighed, knowing that Gabriella's words were true, and they completely pierced her heart, exactly like they were stabbing Gabriella's. But she still insisted on believing it's not over. "Gabriella...you know that's not true" Taylor lied, but Gabriella seemed completely open to what she had to say, so she continued, "Troy trusts you. It's that Lucas guy thathe doesn't trust."

Instead of Gabriella taking in what Taylor had told her, all she did was shake her head. Standing up, she moved towards her window and gazed out into the sunlight. "If he trusted me so much, and he doesn't trust Lucas...then why did he believe him?" Gabriella questioned her best friend, and she knew there was no answer to that, by the way the whole room fell silent.

Gabriella didn't feel like talking anymore. Instead, she strained her eyes from the view of her window, as she sat on the seat right next to it. She knew Taylor was still there, by the way she heard footsteps moving across the room to reach her. But shewas no longer listening or paying attention...all of her attention was focused on the boy who was at that very moment, walking down her sidewalk.

Troy. Her face slightly grew pale, as she walked him walk slowly with his best friend Chad, and they seemed to be talking heatedly. He looked to be in no better condition than she was herself, but Gabriella completely overlooked that fact. All she cared about was the way Chad tapped Troy on the shoulder and pointed his finger up to Gabriella's window.

Gabriella caught her breath as Troy followed Chad's path to her window, and their eyes locked for one moment. She felt Taylor's hand on her shoulder, taking that as a sign that she was witnessing the whole event too. One day ago, the sight of Troy would've probably made Gabriella burst into tears. But being the strong person her mother knew she could be, she broke the powerful gaze, and moved out of Troy's sight, backing away from the window.

Taylor's eyes lingered for amoment more down the sidewalk, and watched as Troy slowly lowered his eyes back down, before they turned cold, and he and Chad continued their walk, as if Troy was completely ignoring the fact he had just seen Gabriella.

Shifting her eyes to Gabriella who was back to arranging and re-arranging her clothes yet again, she spoke softly, suddenly filled with admiration for her in her eyes. "You amaze me Gabriella Montez...you are really someone who should truly be admired by how strong youare."

Gabriella's eyes turned slightly glossy, and she smiled softly for the first time in almost a day. "Strength is nothing more than how well you hide the pain" She stated truly, and for a moment her and Taylor locked eyes, as if they were understanding each other on a whole new level. Clearing her throat momentarily, Gabriella chuckled immensely, "So...want to help your best friend pack?"

Taylor had no response but to giggle and say, "It's going to be hard with you gone these few days, Montez."

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I hope you guys were satisfied with this chapter. I was trying to get both Troy and Gabriella in there without any confrontation, or any explanation on Troy's part...and lookie there? I did it! lol.

And also, I never had any intentions of making Gabriella the sappy, I'm-no-good-anymore type of people, who mopes around because their boyfriend just broke up with them. I always wanted her as a sassy, but strong character of her own, and I am quite proud with how this turned out. I hope you guys like it, as well!

**Remember...this time, if you will review, I will review your stories, and also give you virtual cookies! I seriously would bake real ones to show how much I appreciate everyone's support...but then well, I'd have to eat them all, and that wouldn't be too fair! ****haha****. Thanks again and I'll update as soon as I can:-)**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Hello again you guys! Quick update, huh:-) I really truly didn't want to leave you guys off for awhile, because besides all the talking, the chapter wasn't too exciting. hehe. Things, sorta kinda heat up in this chapter, but not much else. All the action is in the last chapter, which I have decided will have to be split into two different parts. Yay!

I really appreciated the reviews from the last chapter, a lot of you really enjoyed the way I transited Gabriella's character in it. Once again I loved the reviews so much, and I hope you guys are satisfied by this chapter! **PLEASE R&R!!!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

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**Chapter 14**

"Class, settle down!" Mrs. Brooks snapped at her loud classroom, buzzing with noise, and the room almost instantly silenced. She smiled to herself, and grabbed her attendance list to take roll. "Hmm...ah, Troy Bolton?"

Someone shifted towards the back of the room, and Troy let out a short, "Here" before crossing his arms lightly. Taylor couldn't help but glance at the boy, who let the hair fall slowly into his eyes, pushing it back farther, quite annoyed with it. She also couldn't help but notice how he was trying hard not to stare at Gabriella's empty seat right in front of him.

_If all this wouldn't have happened, Gabriella would be sitting here and laughing at Troy poking her in the back, like he always does _Taylor thought silently to herself, and cursed for the world being truly and completely unfair.

"Taylor McKessie?" The sharp voice of the teacher stated, and Taylor snapped her head up, to see the whole class shooting her confused glances as to why she wasn't responding. She watched Chad from the corner of her eye, and saw him press his lips together in confusion.

"Oh um...yes, here" She fumbled to respond, and Mrs. Brooks eyed her as if she was wondering something. But none the less, she nodded her head, and scanned the sheet for another name,

"Gabriella Montez?"

The whispers broke out there, and many people seemed to turn around to stare at Troy, most of them thinking that he would be the most likely person to know where she was. Taylor bit her lip, knowing how wrong they were, and her heart broke at the confusion in Troy's face as he stared hard at the back of Gabriella's chair.

Taking a deep breath, Taylor closed her eyes and lifted up her hand, "Mrs. Brooks? Gabriella will be gone for the next few days, but she is being excused from the office, if you needed to know."

Everyone was now staring at her. She strayed her eyes over the curious glances of her classmates, before looking back to Mrs. Brooks just in time to see her nod curtly, and scribble down the name on her absent sheet. Taylor was fighting the urge to look around and see Troy's reaction, but she knew that if she did it would just look suspicious and many of her friends like Chad, Sharpay, and possibly Troy would be coming to her for the answers. And she most certaintly couldn't do that to Gabriella...they never really discussed what people would react to her not being there, but Taylor didn't want to take the chance.

"Troy, where is she?" She heard Sharpay whisper curiously from behind her, and listened carefully, but as she waited and waited, there was no response from Troy. Taylor took this as her cue, to cool Sharpay down before she kept questioning.

"Hey, Shar, uhm...don't worry about it" Taylor smiled at her, and Sharpay just raised an eyebrow. But what was Taylor to say? She might be able to explain things to Sharpay later, but she had to be careful about what she said around Troy. Even though it broke her heart to do so when the thing she wanted to do the most was to confess everything to Troy.

But she just couldn't do that to her friend.

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The two friends, as they held their belongings, pushed open the doors to the large room, laughing as they came in. Gabriella held her Burger King sack closely to her, as she plopped down onto the fuzzy bed and made herself quickly at her.

As she plucked a french fry out of the sack and shoved it into her mouth, she watched as Shelly took off her shoes delicately as she laughed. "Gabi...you just had to stop and get fast food didn't you? I swear, you;ve certainly stretched since the last time I saw you!" She exclaimed, coming down to sit next to her, shaking her head as she sat and watched her best friend stuffing her face with food.

Gabriella shrugged somewhat happily and sighed, as she waited to talk until she swallowed her food. "Hey, I felt like it! I hate the drive up here...it takes way too long" Gabriella excused herself from the reason, chuckling silently.

Shelly raised an eyebrow, and watched her eat for a few more moments, subconsciously playing with the bracelets on her arm. Sighing, she felt obligated suddenly to snatch the bag away from her friend, and hide it behind her back.

"Hey!" Gabriella cried out, making a move with her hand to grab the bag from her, but Shelly only shook her head and tossed it into the plush seat next to her. Gabriella was shocked and confused to why her friend took her food away from her, thinking it was only a stupid reason about not thinking about all the calories she was consuming. But seriously, she had just arrived into New York City, and she was quite hungry.

"Gabriella..." Shelly sighed as she started, staring holes into Gabriella's head, "Fast food is your comfort food" She simply stated crossing her legs on the bed, and tucking her hair behind her ears, and Gabriella knew that meant she was about to talk.

"My comfort, what?" Gabriella asked quizzically, and Shelly simply laughed at her friend. Every once in awhile she would cast her glance towards her food, desperately wanting to eat those chicken fries that she had paid for.

Shelly snapped her fingers, to make sure Gabriella had turned her full attention back to her, knowing very well what she was staring at. "Your comfort food...the type of food that you eat when you are depressed or stressed, that makes you feel better" Shelly defined for Gabriella, and instantly Gabriella looked away. "I'm not an idiot babe...I mean, I haven't heard much from you lately, and you just show up like this almost un-announced...what's going on, huh? Best friends tell all, right?"

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh with Shelly at that statement, trying to avoid the question, but knew she wouldn't succeed. "Well...it's complicated, Shel."

Shelly instantly pretended to sniff the air before adding her prediction, "I smell a Troy Bolton problem...mm...?"

Gabriella chuckled, "Wow...and I thought I only smelled _my _food from Burger king...ha, yeah actually you guessed correctly." Her tone of voice suddenly turned serious, and Gabriella knew they were no longer joking around. This was game time, and Gabriella knew she would have to confess to a third person. They were silent for a second as they listened to their parents laugh and joke downstairs in the kitchen, before Shelly lifted the conversation again.

"Alright, Gabriella. What's happened?" Shelly got straight to the point, leaning in to show that she was all ears and ready for an explanation.

Gabriella sighed. "Lucas happened...that's what" She confessed and stopped to hear Shelly let out an unbelievable gasp before she continued, "And well...he sort of tried to call me for the first time a few days ago, Troy answered it, and Lucas simply decided that he'd say that I was cheating on Troy with him, and Troy believed him. Guess who got the short end of the stick this time?" Gabriella used hand gestures at the last part, her face completely serious and bitter, as she sighed loudly.

Shelly's mouth awas agape as she took the information in. "Nuh uh...Lucas? Why in the hell would he do that?" Shelly asked, but not like a question, more like a statement that seemed completely unreal to her.

"Are you seriously asking that question, Shel?" Gabriella raised her eyebrows, "This is the guy who completely dissed my family when it was practically falling apart...and God knows he'd try to wreck my relationship too!"

Shelly noticed the anger evident in Gabriella's voice, and felt bad that she wasn't exactly sure on what to say to make her feel better. In the past when Gabriella was involved with drama, she would cry over it, and Shelly would try and soothe her. This time around, things were completely different.

"And how exactly had Lucas known about Troy and you? I mean, I most certainly did not say a word to him...neither has Amber and Brittany, I mean we have completely been giving him the cold shoulder!" Shelly explained quickly, afraid that Gabriella was so silent because she had suspected her.

"Relax Shel" Gabriella shook her head, "I know you didn't do anything. I didn't say a word to him...and the more I think about it, I don't think he knew. I think he intended to having me answer the phone, but when a guy did instead, he jumped at the chance to ruin my life."

The bitterness arrived again at the back of Gabriella's words, and Shelly gulped at the furious state that Gabriella was in. She moved away from the bed, grabbing the sack from Burger King quietly, and bringing it back over to place on the bed beside Gabriella. She saw her friend send her a grateful glance, before putting her hand back into the sack again.

"Gabriella...I know you" Shelly said suddenly, and that made Gabriella lift her head to look at her, "And...I may not know much about this situation. I may have never seen Troy in my life, to know what he's like...and I may have never been there. But I know _you. _And you're not happy...you hate this Gabriella. No matter how strong you are, you hate it, and you aren't happy."

The seriousness in Shelly's tone overthrew Gabriella, and made her greatly admire her friend. But she couldn't help it, because she knew she was exactly right. Suddenly Gabriella felt the need to fight the urge to just cry out and sob onto the floor. Gabriella nodded curtly, looking down at her feet, and taking deep and slow breaths.

Shelly was uncertain if Gabriella was understanding, and she watched her carefully, and she fiddled with the hem of her pants. The silence seemed to drown on for a long time, and she was afraid her parents would come bursting through the door, demanding to know the reason why the first time since Gabriella and Shelly met back in the first grade, they were completely silent around each other.

The radio was on low, and Gabriella was now silently listening to the music that flowed out of the stereo. _"Lately, something here don't feel right...this is just a half-life...is there really no escape?...no escape from time...of any kind."_

"You're right, Shel."

Shelly focused her attention on Gabriella again as she spoke. "You're right Shelly, and I can't do this alone. I'm not okay, and I don't know when I will be again" Gabriella looked Shelly straight in the eye, and Shelly's eyes sparkled which meant that Shelly was listening to every word that Gabriella said.

"Gabriella..." Shelly started, but struggled with the words to say after that.

"Shel?" Gabriella interrupted Shelly, and started to ask a very important question, "Would you mind coming back with me for a few days? Please...I need you there" Gabriella pleaded to her friend, and Shelly could see the despair in her friend's eyes.

Once Shelly had nodded almost automatically, Gabriella felt like a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders. But something...something in the pit of her stomach still felt queezy. Something wasn't right...something didn't feel feel right, and she had to fix it.

The one thing she had learned from Troy, she was completely avoiding.

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The song in this chapter was called "Half Life" by Duncan Sheik. It was on the What A Girl Wants soundtrack, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I thought it was appropriate for this chapter, too.

Sorry it was just basically more talking, but the storm starts next chapter. It's the last one, split into two parts. If you're thinking, how is she going to manage everything at the rate she is taking this story, well I don't know actually. Haha. But I do know that all hell is going to have to break lose, if you know what I'm saying.

Let's review shall we? At the moment we have Taylor the only one who knows where Gabriella really is, everyone else is completely confused and does not even know about the break-up except for Chad and Taylor, Troy is...well we haven't really gotten to how Troy is exactly feeling yet. And we also have Shelly coming back with Gabriella...how is everything going to unfold? Will Lucas make another appearance? How is all hell going to break loose? And no, we haven't seen enough of Gabriella and her mother's newly put-back-together relationship.

Chapter 15, Part 1 and 2 are heading your way. If you review lots, it'll inspire me to go faster. :-) I hope you guys enjoyed this, **please review!!!!**


	17. Chapter 15

**A/N**: Hey guys! I hope you are all doing okay, I hope everyone is having a great start of December! Yay! Haha. Now all of the action starts in this chapter, and I'm thankful that I didn't leave you guys hanging for too long. The updates have been pretty quick lately, and I hope to finish this before a couple weeks before Christmas, because I will be getting busier around then.

Enjoy this chapter, and please review! I'm not sure about the turn-out of this, so feel free to make suggestions or comments at any time! Thanks guys, your support is the best.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School Musical or any related characters.

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**Chapter 15**

Taylor groaned loudly, and made known to everyone around her that she was about to bang her head hard, VERY hard on the solid table top of her desk. Chad jumped as he heard her head crash onto it, and softly patted her on the back. Truthfully, Taylor was tired of the constant nagging and questioning she had been getting the past few days from many people at her school, mainly Sharpay if course, demanding to be told where Gabriella was and why. But she really couldn't blame them.

If she hadn't had known, she would be wondering too. Especially since Troy hadn't been informed by her. And he was by far the closest person to her since she moved here. Oh how wrong people thought Taylor told herself bitterly, knowing no one besides her knew that Troy was probably, at the moment, the person farthest from her heart.

But yet again, she couldn't blame them.

Her headaches started acting up again, and felt Chad rubbing her back as she moved her fingers across her forehead in slow, circular motions. He had been there for her the past few days, even though he was still completely clueless. And it killed her for doing so...but she promised Gabriella. It had gotten so bad, that everyday after school she would call Gabriella, and Gabriella would continue to apologize over and over again, telling her that she was sorry for the trouble she was causing, and would eventually make it up to her, and promised to explain as much as she could to the questioners when she returned.

Taylor thankfully, could not be happier that today was the day Gabriella was returning. And with a surprise...out of her own amusement, she couldn't help but think that things were going to get interesting in a few moments. At that thought, she took a quick glance over at Troy, who was at the moment, looking at Taylor as well. He had been concerned for her, knowing very well she was getting questioned too much for her own good, and she was completely stressed. Nodding quickly over at Taylor, he ducked his head away, and turned around to talk to Zeke, pretending that hardly anything happened.

Taylor blew out a breath, that coincidently blew a strand of hair out of her face, as she faced back towards the front. The bell shrilly rang, and the door slammed shut, as her teacher glided across the floor to the attendance sheet.

"Good morning students, please settled down, I have an announcement" Mrs. Brooks boomed loudly, and all the students instantly clapped their mouths shut, hinting at the informative voice their teacher was speaking in. Mrs. Brooks smiled at all of the sudden light whispers went on around the classroom, "I have just been informed that Ms. Montez will be back today...in fact in a few moments, with a guest actually..."

That was enough to get the students whispering around like crazy, and the teach sighed knowing that she would never get a word in now. "Students! I would appreciate your full attention, please!" Her voice grew louder after every word, and the students impatiently turned to her, to listen to any other announcements. "Thank you...now I would like you all not to bombard Gabriella with questions as soon as she comes in...I've heard quite the stories this week, and would not like my classroom to turn into a drama-fest while I try to teach, so if you must, please wait to burst out in questions, after class."

The door creaked open slightly, and the very familiar brunette stepped in, her eyes shining as if it was the first day of school all over again. Gabriella smiled slightly, moving in further, grinning like a mad woman as she let her blonde friend move into full view as well. The whisperers broke out again, although the noise kept to a minimum, all getting hostile glances from their teacher.

"Class" Mrs. Brooks stated, as she held out her arms to gesture at the friend standing next to Gabriella, standing poised and tall, acting just like Sharpay, "Ms. Montez wants me to introduce her friend Shelly Walters, that came to visit her all the way from New York City. She will be here for a few days, so please make her feel welcome as a guest should feel. You make take the empty seat next to Ms. Montez, dear."

"Thanks!" Shelly exclaimed perkily, and followed Gabriella towards the back, sliding gracefully into the seat next to Gabriella, and setting her designer purse on the desktop.

Gabriella however, struggled to keep her eyes to adverting directly to Troy's gaze, which she knew was on her, knowing it was hard to do because she was so used to coming in and he being the first person she even cared to glance at in the morning. And this time around, it was the exactly least place she would care to be, and he being the exactly least person she wanted to see.

She slipped quickly into the seat, her hair slightly flying around, and her back immediately turned to Troy. Even though she wasn't certain if Troy was staring at her still, she felt as if his gaze would burn holes in the back of her neck at any moment.

"Gabriella!" A loud voice shrieked, and Gabriella suddenly felt someone hit her lightly on the shoulder. Of course it was Sharpay, her face lighting up when Gabriella finally looked up and noticed her, "Welcome back, hon. We missed you!"

Gabriella giggled lightly, and swiftly cast an amusing glance towards Shelly, who was quite impressed about Sharpay. Of course, Shelly had been informed all about Sharpay Evans, and Gabriella giggled knowing that the two of them would probably become faster friends than Gabriella and Sharpay had become.

"I _really_ love your name, Sharpay! I'm Shelly! Oh my God...our name's both start with S's! Isn't that just the coolest thing? We could get matching "S" necklaces!" Shelly clapped her hands with excitement, and Gabriells suddenly felt like leaning back, so her friends on both sides of her could talk evenly over her. But then she was reminded of who was sitting right behind her...and suddenly that feeling of longing washed over her, and she knew that if nothing had happened, she would be in his arms at the moment, him toying with her hair as they would just enjoy the prescence of each other, that way they would be telling each other without words how much they missed each other.

"Yeah, and Gabriella can get a necklace with a "T" on it!" Sharpay joked, completely unaware of how Gabriella's breath seemed to hitch into her throat, and how Troy had managed to overhear, and completely stiffen in his seat. Gabriella suddenly felt clammy, and Troy's whole body seemed to be a lot closer to her than he actually appeared.

Sharpay however, quit joking around, as she noticed Shelly suddenly grew quiet too, and watched as she was now acting as if she was more interested in her nails. Before she could say anymore though, Mrs. Brooks clapped her hands loudly, and all of the students hushed up.

"Okay everyone...you've had your fun. Now it's time to get back to work, everyone please open you pages back up to 107, and we'll continue from yesterday's lesson...Ms. Montez, you might just want to ask Mr. Bolton behind you, or someone else around you, if you wish, about what you have to catch up on.

Gabriella nodded to notify Mrs. Brooks that she had heard her, and instantly leaned over to Sharpay and whispered, "Hey Shar, what did I miss out on?"

Everyone seemed to have noticed that whole exchange. The fact that Gabriella went with asking Sharpay about the homework instead of Troy, even after Mrs. Brooks had pointedly mentioned his name, and everyone thought that no matter what he would be the first person she turned to anyways.

Sharpay's mouth was slightly agape as she looked into Gabriella's questioning stare for a moment, before blinking her eyes over to Troy, who was pursing his lips, and looked away as if he was annoyed and incomfortable with the whole situation. Pursing her own lips as well, she turned back to Gabriella in sudden realization, but after a moment she had decided to fake her smile anyways,

"Uhm, how about I just come over to your house after school to tell you all about it? Then maybe we can catch up and everything..." Sharpay hinted on, but Gabriella didn't seem to notice, as she just shrugged coolly and muttered out an, "Okay", before turning around in her seat to pay attention to the teacher.

Sharpay however, seemed to be horrified. _It just can't be..._

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Gabriella slammed her lunch tray down at their usual table in the cafeteria, and blew out a large breath, before placing her head firmly into her hands and groaning. Shelly sympathetically whispered to her that everything was all right, and they would all get over themselves eventually, as Sharpay walked around and sat on her other side.

"Oh come on Gabriella...I know this is hard, but you can't blame them for being curious...I mean, you haven't exactly explained anything yet" Sharpay tried to reason with her best friend, even though she knew she wasn't helping. Truthfully, Sharpay wanted to know the truth. She was tired of Gabriella beating around the bush about it, and she had so many questions, she felt as if she was about to burst.

"Not now Shar..." Gabriella mumbled tiredly into her hands, just as Taylor, Chad, and Troy made their way to the table and sat down. They all seemed to be listening in more than eating, hearing Gabriella's last exchange of words.

"But Gabi, I..." Sharpay tried to continued, but all Gabriella did was lift up her head, and stare unbelievably at one of her best friends.

Cutting her off, Gabriella brushed off any of her questions as she finished coolly, "No Shar...I said _not now_. Please...I thought we were going to talk about this after school?"

Sharpay heard the pleading in Gabriella's voice, watching as her friend slowly but surely strayed her eyes over the three people who had now joined them at the table. Sharpay was about to say more, but Gabriella firmly clenched her teeth, "_Please_ Shar..."

Sharpay sighed defeated, and Gabriella almost felt like wiping pretend sweat off her forehead, casually sending a glance over at Taylor, and they both exchanged grateful looks.

However this whole exchange didn't go unnoticed by Sharpay, who suddenly felt compelled to not drop the subject. "Gabriella...why can't you just tell me what's going on? I mean I'm not stupid, but I thought we were on the same page...I thought we were best friends?" Sharpay dejectedly managed to whisper out softly, and Gabriella suddenly felt like she was about to be riled up.

"Shar...please, don't guilt me into this..."

"Gabriella, I'm not!" Sharpay shot back almost instantly, and Gabriella feared that something was about to happen as she heard the whole cafeteria grow quiet, everyone in a sudden interest to the conversation, "But seriously, enough is enough. I know you've told Taylor what's going on, the fact that she has been trying so hard to keep her mouth shut over the few days, and there's also the fact that you haven't even as merely looked in Troy's direction ONCE since you've been back! What's going on...I mean, were you running away?"

Gabriella felt sudden pain through her eyes, and she knew her vision was going to blur any moment...she felt like she needed to get out, and run away from everything. She didn't know if she could hold in all of her emotions any longer, she didn't know if she was strong enough to handle this.

"Sharpay, enough!" Taylor sharply hissed, trying to calm her friend down, but that certainly didn't push any of her buttons far enough, the blonde more focused on pushing some of Gabriella's buttons.

"Shar you don't understand..." Shelly tried to reason with her new friend at the same time as Taylor, but she only had her eyes focused on Gabriella, who was painfully looking away. She glared forcefully over in Troy's direction, who seemed to sigh loudly, as if he didn't know what to do.

Finally Sharpay glared back at Gabriella, tears suddenly stinging her eyes. "I-I thought we were best friends...and now I guess we aren't. I mean, I know you were equally friends with Taylor, but it still hurts that you told her and not me...and..."

Gabriella was fed up. She was fed up on all of the intense glares, all of the whisperers, all of the curious glances that were sent her way every moment throughout that day so far. She knew that things were bad, the way Taylor explained it to her, but she didn't know things were this bad. "Sharpay, this isn't about YOU! Just shut up, damnit!"

The loudness of her voice made everyone feel like covering their ears, but didn't seem to have the will to move an inch from their spot, afraid they would miss something. Chills ran down Gabriella's spine as she recalled the words she had just spoken, instantly regretting it all. The monster of Gabriella had been awakened, and now she felt she was using her strength too much, as if she was taking advantage of it.

Gabriella bursted away from all of the silent students, each moving out of her way quickly as she brushed passed them without a glance. She had to get out; she didn't know where to, but she had to get out.

However, back at the table, Troy was the first one to stand up...the first one to take a step forward...and the first person to chase after her. Everyone gasped as they saw Troy burst through the cafeteria doors that Gabriella just went through, chasing after her.

People seemed to chaotically move towards the doors, pushing people out of the way so they could see the action, while Taylor and Shelly stayed behind to comfort a distraught Sharpay.

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"Gabriella, _stop_!" Troy roared as he stepped out of the cafeteria, grabbing ahold of her hand quickly, swiftly turning her around to him.

"WHAT?" Gabriella sputtered out in his face, her breath coming out in a rage. "Now you decided to talk to me?" Her tone was quite cold, her breathing coming out in ragged, shaky breaths. "That's rich, Troy...I don't need you to be the one telling me that I made a mistake about yelling at Sharpay, considering _your_ circumstances...I already feel guilty enough anyways..." She hissed harshly, starting to turn around and walk off, until she felt a tug on her hand.

"Now just hold it a second...why are you so mad at me? I haven't been the liar here! I wasn't the one who ran off to New York without so much a word to Taylor, who most likely just happened to be in the right place, at the wrong time!" Troy shot back, the anger flashing through his eyes, and Gabriella would be lying if she had said that his voice and eyes hadn't nerved her a bit.

Instead though, she ended up letting out a bitter laugh, "Me? _Me?_ I'm not the one who chose...who chose to TRUST some _idiot_ who you don't even know, over your own girlfriend who told you every detail of her LIFE!"

Troy took a step back, his ocean blues eyes growing colder and colder. "Apparently I wasn't enough though, apparently you didn't manage to mention every detail of your life..." He fired back, stepping another foot towards her.

"You want to know? Fine!" Gabriella suddenly burst out, flapping her arms wildly as she managed to break free of her wrist from Troy's wrist, and she seemed to turn around in circles for a moment. "I knew Lucas...yes, we dated...but it ended when I found out I was moving here! No, we didn't mutually end it, saying that it was best if we didn't have a long distance relationship. It never got to that point, because I DUMPED him."

Gabriella was completely riled up now, as she resumed her position she was in before she started pacing around, and stared Troy directly and truthfully into the eye. "I dumped him, because he chose that moment to show me the true asshole he really was, by dissing out my mom. And of course, the whole thing he started between you and me, didn't help defend him on any part!" She continued to speak, not even bothering to glance over at Troy to read his expression, too caught up in her own words, not afraid at all that she may stumble over them in the end.

"Then you, of course...being an asshole that I know you aren't, decided to believe that idiot over me, and look where we are now! Like THIS! You _asshole_!" Gabriella sputtered out angrily, suddenly aware of the closeness of both of their mouths, their noses almost touching.

Gabriella noticed Troy wasn't speaking...he hadn't in a long time...

**_FLASHBACK_**

_She stared intently into Lucas's eyes, and saw complete carelessness. "You asshole" Gabriella sputtered out angrily, grabbing her purse from the porch railing, and stomping off down the driveways without another word._

**_END FLASHBACK_**

Gabriella took a step back from Troy, in a sudden daze of realization, that history felt like it was repeating itself. "What...Gabriella, what?" Troy spoke, concerned for her, trying to reach out to touch her, but she just kept backing away. "Gabriella what's..."

"I guess this is goodbye Troy..." Gabriella said softly, not even caring to look at Troy's expression, afraid she was going to see a face that would make her regret her decision of leaving him standing in the middle of the hallway.

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Well, Part 1 is finished! I hope it wasn't to intense, even though I had warned you guys that everything was about to start heating up...lol. I also know I probably made Troy seem like an asshole, and I probably made Sharpay a newly hated person...but I hope you guys understand why. haha.

Anyways, what do you guys hope for in the last chapter? I am about to give you guys a little preview, but also a little game. I'm going to give you guys a line from the next chapter, and you can guess who's going to say it. If you guess correctly, I will PM you with an even bigger selection from the next chapter.

Here it goes:

_"Trust is...is a hard word to think about sometimes. Sometimes, you might just want to forget about that fact in the heat of the moment, only to regret it in the long run."_

Any guesses? Haha, choose wisely! In the meantime, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please review and tell me your thoughts in this. Please be honest and don't worry if you have to tell me if you didn't like something about it...I love it when people give me their opinions, so I know exactly how to level everything in the next chapter! Thanks you guys, **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Guys I am so sorry. I've been much busier than I thought, and well unfortunately it turned out like this! To the people who guessed right, I'm sorry I didn't get to send you part of the story. I just now finished it and I figured that I had let you guys waiting too long! However the winners were: **ibelieveintruelove and HaloAngel504. **I hope those were the only two that got it right, and if I missed you I'm so sorry, just PM me and I'll add you! I really hope you guys enjoy this last chapter...I'm actually glad I didn't get it up sooner, because I just had some new ideas in the past few days that I really like. I hope you like it too. :-) 

**Please R&R!!!!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own High School Musical or any related characters. 

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**Chapter 16**

Hearing the clicking of the door, Gabriella swiftly moved in letting out a big sigh, and closing her door behind her. She glanced over to the right and saw the Christmas Tree that her mother had just put up a few days before and smiled softly. "Mom?" Gabriella called out, hearing the echoing of her voice, as she set down her purse and schoolbag. 

She heard her mother's heels clicking on the floor and Gabriella made herself right at home, flopping down on the couch and closing her eyes tiredly. 

"Gabi...how was school?" Ms. Montez asked her daughter softly and Gabriella's eyes snapped open to see her mother's hopeful ones. Gabriella's sigh made her mother frown a little, wondering if she was ever going to go back to normal. 

Ms. Montez moved to sit next to Gabriella on the couch, wrapping an arm around her daughter and putting her head atop of hers. "I'm really sorry honey" She gave her daughter a squeeze on the shoulder, "I may not know how hard this is for you, but I know it's hard."

Groaning, Gabriella moved the couch pillow to cover her face, "Mom, it's not really about the whole cause of the situation that's bugging me...it's the aftermath of it. I mean I feel like I've been cut off all of a sudden..." After saying this, Gabriella removed the pillow from her face and looked her mother straight in the eye.

"Troy's still not even looking at me; I'm pretty sure he didn't believe a word I said...Sharpay has been giving me glares all week, although sometimes I see her soften when she's around me; even Taylor has been trying to avoid me and speaks to me as little as possible, God, I mean I wish I knew what everyone was thinking!"

Mrs. Montez could hear the frustration in her daughter's voice and her eyes softened while giving her a smile. "Mija, you can't expect life to be perfect-"

"I know, mom" Gabriella growled and slapped the pillow into her face, before pulling it away slowly and blowing away the strands of hair that got messy. "But everything's not alright...and when it's not, it bugs the hell out of me. You know that! It was how I was when dad...well..."

Both Gabriella and her mother were strickly silent, as they both remembered the events leading after Gabriella's father's death. Lisa held in her memories and quickly gave her daughter a watery smile. "I've learned things Gabi..."

In interest, Gabriella looked up at her mom with the same watery glaze in her eyes, "And what would that be? Is it better than learning who to trust and not who to trust?" The cold bitterness in her voice, made her mother rethink her choice of words, which left another slight silence in the room.

"You know..." Lisa Montez smiled slightly, before clearing her throat and continuing, "I think it's time for me to share something with you, about your father and I...we were a lot like you and Troy."

That had snapped Gabriella's full attention and her brow furrowed with confusion. Lisa continued, "There was a time long ago where your father, didn't believe how much he could trust me...it was over something stupid, hardly as important as believing in cheating..." At this, Gabriella seemed to choke a little, "But anyways, he still didn't believe..."

Lisa smiled to herself and chuckled, "But then, finally, he came back. Like I always believed he would...he repeated this saying to me; Trust is...is a hard word to think about sometimes. Sometimes you might just want to forget about that fact in the heat of the moment, only to regret it in the long run."

Kissing her daughter's forehead affectionately, Lisa Montez made a move to leave the couch. "I love you sweetheart, and your dad loved you very much. But I'll bet you anything Troy Bolton loves you too. It just might be worth the wait to give him time."

Gabriella's eyes followed her mother as she glided up the stairs, leaving her daughter in her thoughts. Sighing and biting her lip furiously, her eyes landed on her coat hanging next to the door. With one last glance towards the stairs, Gabriella made a move towards her coat.

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Shelly was tired. Tired of having to sit around Lucas all the time at the lunch table and not being able to burst out into flames while she happened to be around him. For all the things he put Gabriella into, all he could do was sit there with a big perky smirk on his face while he flirted with all of her best friends.

With a roll of her eyes, Shelly practically had to bite her lip to keep her from bursting. She knew she couldn't. She knew that Gabriella didn't want the whole school knowing about her problems and Shelly respected her feelings.

Glancing over at Lucas once more, she noticed his eyes on hers, and she knew that he knew she knew. Wait...that doesn't even make sense... Shelly thought to herself, before shaking that thought.

Suddenly, looking back into Lucas's curious eyes once more, a light bulb went off into her head. "That's it!" She squealed out loud, and the whole table managed to turn heads and look at her strangely. "Uhh I mean...nothing...Jessica..." Shelly laughed out loud, then murmured over to her friend next to her. Shelly managed to slip her pink phone into her hands, without anyone noticing.

"I want you to take this phone and set it in the bush just right outside the cafeteria doors with the video camera on and recording" Shelly whispered and with one more glance over at Lucas she hissed, "Go!"

Jessica was more confused than ever, but managed to squirm out of her seat and scramble out the doors. "Lucas, hey, I need to talk to you for one moment" Shelly suddenly announced, and she glanced at Lucas with a raised eyebrow. "Now, outside" She ordered with a hint of bitterness.

Not quite sure what to make of this order, Lucas followed Shelly reluctantly, a bit confused as the strutted over to the cafeteria doors, where Jessica was just coming out of.

"Thanks Jess!" Shelly whispered quickly before noticing the pink carefully hidden in the bushes, yet clear enough for it to see what was about to happen. "Perfect!" She whispered, before whipping her head around to Lucas.

"How can you be so STUPID? I hope you have some great excuse for whatever reason you had to completely ruin Gabriella's life, actually wait no, there is no excuse is there?" Shelly fumed out and in the end only got a smirk in return.

"Why, whatever do you mean Shel?" Lucas cracked a cocky smile, which made Shelly even more furious.

Grabbing ahold of Lucas's shirt collar, her eyes darkened. "Why did you want to break up Troy and Gabriella?" Shelly questioned, as if she was a lawyer questioning her witness.

"Ohhh...so that's his name. Troy?" Lucas pretended to care for a moment, until he saw Shelly's death glare, something he had never recieved from her. "Okay, so maybe I was a little out of line...but come on! I never expected her to have a boyfriend so fast after she moved, especially not in cow town..."

"Now hold it just a minute!" Shelly argued furiously, the angry glint in her eyes burning holes in Lucas's face, "Those people in that town are most definitely the most down-to-earth people I know! So don't you go dissing them, because I know you will lose. And secondly, Gabriella is in love with Troy, like she was NEVER in love with you, so I suggest you get over it and accept that! Not try to ruin her life!"

Without another word, Shelly stomped over to the bushes and grabbed the pink cell from it, saving the whole masquerade into her phone. Smiling cheekily over at Lucas's shocked expression, she brushed past his shoulder and back through the cafeteria doors.

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Sharpay sighed to herself, while drumming her newly polished nails on the cafeteria top of the table. A few people from the gang were still hanging out around after school, mostly just her, Troy, and Taylor. They were all silent and quiet as if they all were thinking about the same thing.

"Why are we still here guys?" Taylor finally breathed out, as Sharpay's cell phone dinged, and she hurried to see what she got. Knowing Sharpay was too busy checking her messages to noticed, Taylor sighed and glanced over at Troy.

He shrugged and whispered softly, "I have nothing better to do anymore."

Before Taylor could respond to that, Sharpay gasped loudly, causing both Taylor and Troy to look up with interest. Snapping her head towards Troy, her gaze softened, "Troy I think...I think you might want to watch this..."

Sharpay handed over her iphone to Troy, who grabbed it curiously, flipping it over to reveal her video screen...

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Gabriella felt the chilly wind against her cheeks from the cold, fall air and closed her eyes while breathing in the pine tree scent through her nose carefully. Winter was just around the corner and Gabriella shivered as she looked down towards the lake, wondering just how cold the water would feel if she happened to jump in. She sighed, smiling slightly through her eyes, as she remembered that one magical camping trip...oh, she missed them all. So, so much. 

A sudden gush of wind made Gabriella gasp, as she reached up to remove a few strands of hair that blew straight into her face. Once done, she moved her hands down towards her neck, tightly grasping onto the simple silver chain that she wore under her clothes. 

Closing her eyes, Gabriella held on tight to the chain, while looking up towards the sky, letting the wind take her in. Gabriella sighed loudly before muttering, 

"I'm sorry I let you down, dad." 

"I disagree with that" Someone's voice cracked and Gabriella felt as if she couldn't whip her head around faster. She only gasped at the sight that she never dreamed would happen again, 

"Troy." 

She watched carefully as her ex-lover took a step closer to her, as if he was about to add more onto his argument. Gabriella shivered suddenly as he got closer, but she wasn't sure if it was the wind this time. 

"Your father would be very proud of you, Gabriella" Troy stated in such a serious tone, that Gabriella was surprised with. She had never heard him speak like that. "You got through all of your hardships, which is more than what you could say for half these people in the world. And...your mother...your father would be so proud that you two realized you need each other more than anything." 

Gabriella said nothing in response, only slightly pursed her lips, while staring awkwardly down towards her shoes. Troy's hands were stuffed into his pockets and he seemed to be rocking back and forth on his heels, as if he didn't know what to say next. 

"Gabi...from the way you talked about your father...I _know _he would" Troy insisted, with despair slighltly filling his voice. 

Gabriella couldn't help but laugh slightly; what was he doing here? Crossing her arms, to shield them from the cold, Gabriella blinked as she looked back towards the icy lake. "I-uh-I thought you really didn't care anymore..." 

Looking back towards Troy, she saw him frown slightly, as if he was slightly dissapointed in her for saying such a thing. "Gabriella-I don't think anything you could do, could stop me from caring..." His voice was much softer this time around, as if he was really falling back in love with her. 

With the same glint in her eye that she always had when Troy was around her, Gabriella took a chance, softly padding through the ground to be closer to Troy. He watched her carefully, as if he was trying to relive all of their memories in five seconds. 

"What made you change your mind?" 

Troy could instantly smell her sweet scent once again; her hand came up to rest upon his cheek, and Troy had to resist himself from sighing in content. Instead he seemed to swallow hard, reaching up to grasp her by the wrist, pulling her hand off and tucked safely into his hand instead. 

Then, as he reached over to grasp her other hand as well, he spoke, "I'm so sorry. I-I should've trusted you...you're right. Nothing in a relationship works if we can't trust each other...and I'm ready to give you that now" He looked straight into her chocolate brown eyes as he spoke, each word he kept true to his heart. 

"That is...if you're willing to take the asshole back." 

Gabriella giggled softly, feeling Troy's thumb move side to side around her fingers. Smiling to herself, she felt herself remembering her mothers words. Feeling a sudden rush of love for her mother, she put her hand to her heart. 

Deciding to make the first move, Gabriella couldn't wait any longer. She moved forward, placing both her hands against his cheeks, as she pressed her lips against his. Troy smiled into the kiss, reaching to grasp her around the waist and pull her up. Gabriella responded by jumping and wrapping her legs around his waist, not breaking the kiss. 

Their kiss was soft and sweet, but filled with pure love. And Gabriella knew she wasn't the only one to feel it. Breaking apart slightly, Gabriella still kept her lips within mere centimeters of his. 

"I love you" Gabriella whispered softly, repeated the saying he had told her just a few weeks earlier. Troy was grinning from ear to ear after that, and as he put his hand on the back of hers, pushing her lips back onto his again, Gabriella knew she had his response. 

Clapping suddenly erupted from behind tress and they both blushed, breaking apart as they realized all of their friends plus Gabriella's mom were standing behind there the whole time. 

Slipping out of Troy's hold and back onto the ground, Gabriella's mouth was open with shock as she saw all of her friends, that just earlier today weren't speaking to her, shouting out all of their ways of congratulations. 

Her mother was first to reach her, "Honey! I told you it would work out!", her line of congratulations made Gabriella laugh out loud. Everyone got their turns at hugging Gabriella, each one sharing their apologies as well, Gabriella declining, insisting that they had nothing to be sorry for. After all, it was a huge misunderstanding that no one could control. 

Gabriella looked around suddenly, her eyes reaching her blonde-headed best friend, who was smiling softly in Gabriella's direction, before her gaze retreating to the ground. 

Squeezing Troy's hands slightly, Gabriella nodded over towards Sharpay, and Troy understood perfectly, only encouraging her to go on over there. 

Gabriella shuffled over in Sharpay's direction and soon was standing right in front of her best friend, who she was suddenly feeling guilty. "I'm so sorry Sharpay...I really didn't mean to..." 

"No-let me start, _please_" Sharpay insisted, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry...I mean, I invaded your personal business, and you had every right to keep all of it to yourself, and you had every right to tell whoever you wanted to. You weren't in any fault here; I guess I kind of got carried away. I'm sorry" Sharpay repeated again, reaching up to touch her friends' shoulder lightly. 

Gabriella giggled softly, "It's alright Shar, you've always been forgiven. Besides...I do actually, take part of the blame. I shouldn't have yelled at you; at anyone, for that matter...I was upset, I know, but that doesn't excuse my actions." 

Sharpay just nodded, smiling, and Gabriella knew she was forgiven. "And" Gabriella continued, wanting to get something else out, "You are one of my best friends Shar, and I would never want to lose you. Taylor...she's another one of my best friends, and she just happened to be the one that was there the moment I broke down...I'm so sorry. I really would have told you..." 

"It's alright, Gabs" Sharpay put up a hand. "I think, now's the time where I'm supposed to say you're forgiven, and that we should forget the whole thing ever happened." 

Both girls giggled together, as Sharpay linked their arms. "Shall we?" She asked and Gabriella smiled with a reply, "We shall." 

Returning towards the group, Troy turned around quickly as he saw his girlfriend approach, and he grinned whilst wrapping an arm around her again pulling her close. 

"I say we jump in!" Chad's voice rang out suddenly, and everyone turned to him confused. "In the lake...I mean it'll be a thrilling expreience...something to remember this awesome day with." 

"I brought my camera!" Gabriella's mother yelled out suddenly, winking at her daughter while holding up the camera for everyone to see. 

Troy turned to look down at Gabriella, who looked up at him with uncertainty. "Oh come on...you aren't going to try and run away this time Gabriella, are you?" He asked her cheekily, and Gabriella just shoved him quickly, feeling Taylor coming over to grasp one of her hands. 

Looking at her weirdly, Taylor smiled, "We're all going to jump in together with our hands linked...it'll be more fun that way!" 

Troy came around to grasp Gabriella's other hand, giving it a slight squeeze. Kissing her on the cheek suddenly, Gabriella was brought back to life when her friends started counting down from ten before they would run. 

Glancing back at her mom quickly, Lisa gave her daughter a thumbs up and a big smile, holding the camera up from a view behind them... 

Oh yes, that would be an amazing picture.

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And there you go! One more final chapter, the epilogue, and don't think Shelly out of the picture yet...I haven't forgotten about the great deed she has done. I am not certain in how long it'll take for me to get the epilogue up, so I'm sorry if it takes awhile, although I'm hoping not! I also hope this wasn't too rushed...I don't know.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


	19. Epilogue

_Please don't shoot me! I'm sorry! lol. Uhm-yeah there's not much else I can say to you all and I don't really feel like giving the school excuse because it's the same old story everytime...BUT...I seriously am sorry. Just remember, if I start a story, I will always finish it. With the exception of **High School Never Ends**, which I feel compelled to start again. Mostly because it's one of those things that you can just continue if you feel like it, but I feel like I don't want to. But who knows, I might get so bored I'll write another chapter occasionally. But to be honest, it's not very likely._

_Let's get on to the epilogue! I hope you all enjoy this and that it clears up stuff for you._

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own High School Musical or any related characters._

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**Epilogue**

Adjusting the final strap on her red cocktail dress, Gabriella stood straight in front of the mirror her eyes scanning her appearance up and down. The dress flowed down to just right at her kneecap with jewels lining the neckline. It was fairly simple but enough for her now. Her dark curls were pinned back in a sophisticated bun up-do and she had a few jewels stuck here and there on her bun. There was very light make-up on her face, her eyes only darkened slightly by shadow and her cheeks giving off a rosy tint to them.

Without realizing she was smiling at herself through the mirror, she heard the front door shut and glanced her eyes throught the mirror to the bedroom door. Chuckling slightly, Gabriella knew he was running like a maniac through the house because he was late.

"Just give me two minutes Gabs! I'll be ready in no time!" She heard Troy shout from another room and her grin just only grew wider. _Typical Troy._

Taking a deep breath she walked away from the mirror to her closet-filled with a million shoes-and took her pick of the 10 pairs of red heels she had. Choosing Marc Jacob pumps, she slipped them on her feet. "I hope they don't look like I'm ready to skip down the yellow brick road" Gabriella mumbled to herself as she stood straight again in front of the mirror, examining her heels.

"Hey, I'm ready now, are you because I am star-" Troy entered the room trying to button up his shirt, but stopped mid-sentence as he stared at her, deeply astounded. "Ving..." The mumble barely came out of his mouth audibly, but Gabriella smirked as she turned around, hearing it.

"You like?" Gabriella teased her boyfriend, his mouth still opened wide in shock. Laughing to herself, she heard the clicking of her heels as she started fumbling with the buttons on Troy's shirt, realizing she'd have to finish it herself. "You know, sometimes you are-argmph"

Troy's mouth was pressed against hers in a matter of seconds and Gabriella's hands moved from the buttons to around his neck, messing with his hair slightly. The kiss intensified as Gabriella felt her foot pop, sliding off the floor gracefully. His arms had gone around her waist and he refrained from groaning slightly, knowing that dinner reservations would just have to wait.

Pulling apart just for a matter of seconds, giving Troy enough time to mumble, "You make me look cheap woman", he was immediately told to shut up by Gabriella without using words, instead their mouths.

Giggling ever so lightly, Gabriella pulled apart from Troy's mouth, making his desperate for more. "We're late" She whispered quietly as she tapped his nose. Brushing past him, she swished out of the room quickly.

Troy didn't know how to compose himself after that. A small smile curved on his lips, as he thought about how much she just showed she loved him. Like a young man in love, he followed his girl out to the car, where their night just began.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Troy and Gabriella walked out hand in hand, laughing next to the couple they were with, them too bellowing loudly. The double date consist of themselves, plus Shelly and her boyfriend. Shelly and Marc Drum had been dating for quite a few months, and it was obvious the pair were in love. Gabriella smiled when she saw her best friend so happy.

Feeling a squeeze on her hand, Gabriella looked at her boyfriend who was looking at her with laughter in his eyes. "Oh I forgot to tell you at the apartment-Chad called me earlier today and said he and the whole gang took cookies over to your mom's house over the weekend and went and visited with her. Taylor laughed and got on the phone, saying when they were having tea, Chad broke one of your mom's nice china cups!" Troy cracked up, and Gabriella just groaned and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand,

"Ugh! I TOLD mom not to let him use those cups anymore!"

Chuckling slightly, Troy slung an arm around her shoulder, kissing her forehead. Gabriella was about to turn to kiss his cheek, when Shelly leaned over to the pair,

"You know, I bet you didn't _forget_ to tell her at the apartment Troy, you guys were just too busy sucking saliva to say anything!" She smirked, and both Troy and Gabriella blushed furiously, looking away from each other.

Gabriella eyes Shelly and Marc's hands interwined and retorted, "You too aren't much better!"

They all chuckled together, until Shelly's laughter seemed to hitch in her throat as she noticed someone. Before Gabriella had time to think, she felt Troy's hand squeeze hers even harder and Gabriella widened her eyes as she looked at her boyfriend. His blue eyes became darkened suddenly and Gabriella followed his eyes to the figure all her friends were so concentrated on.

Her mouth opened slightly, she saw Lucas walking with his arm around the waist of his girlfriend of the week. Catching the sight of them, he smugly walked over to them, and Gabriella's blood boiled at the mischevious glint in his eyes.

"Why hello Gabriella..._Bolton_" Lucas snobbily chastised and Gabriella felt her arm go across Troy's stomach to prevent him from doing anything stupid. "What's up with the glare, Bolton? I'm just taking my girlfriend here, Becca, out to eat. Can't we have a little peace?" He continued, trying out the innocent act, which made Gabriella purse her lips in pure hatred. She felt Troy's eyes fall hard on her, but she didn't dare look at him. Instead, she focused on glaring at Lucas, not willing to budge.

The blonde had total confusion written on her face, and she turned around slightly to face Lucas, uncomfortably, "Uhm...my name's Sarah."

Lucas's nose wrinkled up, as if he didn't like the name. Looking once at Gabriella, who's pursed lips had turned into a smirk, he rolled his eyes. "Like it matters much..." He mumbled, and without another word, he dragged her off into the restaurant.

Shelly frowned towards the doors of the restaurant and shook her head, "Gabi he is-"

"The most egotistical asshole on the planet? Yeah, I know" Gabriella said with a roll of the eyes and they all burst out laughing. Sensing that Troy needed her, she felt his arms wrap around hers again, and she buried her face into his chest.

Troy kissed her hair right by her ear and whispered, "God, I love you..." which only made Gabriella smile and snuggle against him closer. The chilly air suddenly became a presence for them and Troy held onto Gabriella tightly to protect her from the cold when the two couples started moving through the city.

Shelly wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and smiled at Troy and Gabriella, her heart warming for them. Giving Marc a little shove, she whispered to him, "Just look at them...aren't they adorable?"

Marc smiled, and held Shelly close. "Yeah they are...but you're beautiful" He lamely said the line, but Shelly laughed anyways and gave her boyfriend a loving kiss. Breaking apart, Marc added, "And I'd have to say, that you are pretty amazing for what you did to bring Troy and her back together...don't forget they will always be grateful for it towards you." Shelly smiled at Marc, and only pulled the man of her dreams back down into another kiss.

The two couples were standing close by the waters, snuggled into each other. Standing in silence and peace, they all just enjoyed the lights, cars swirving by, and themselves, without the pressure of school.

Gabriella sighed contently as she glanced up at Troy, who was gazing lovingly into her eyes. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "So...no regrets?" She questioned, already knowing his answer.

"Never..." He said in a voice that she didn't hear often, but made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Grinning at each other, they closed the space between them, oblivious to everyone around them.

For them, being in the Big Apple is way more romantic than Paris anyday.

_**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**_

_Home is now completely finished! I am deeply saddened that the story is officially over, and of course I apologize again for it taking so long to get to the ending, but I hope you all continue reading my stories to come!_

_I have to say, I plan to get out the start of a new story, **The Wedding Date**, shortly. Yeah you have all probably heard of the movie, but I have my own plot for it...hehe. _

_So long for now, I hope you all have enjoyed this! And as always..._

**_Review...and never forget home!_**


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